When Even Two Sparrows Fall
by Ruby Silverstar
Summary: Six children of destiny. Five survivors. Four new Wanderlings. Three murders. Two "accidents". One suspicious fire. And zero supporters. We are the descendants of the Black Swan and this is our story. Pairings: Sophie/Fitz, Biana/Dex, Keefe/Linh Sequel to Highflight, Winghigh, Starfall (I wrote this one first, I know I know.)
1. Prologue

**As a warning, this is not for the faint of heart. If you want something lighthearted, this is not the story for you.**

The mechanical pencil's lead snapped again under the pressure of its user. Delilah muttered under her breath and pressed the eraser twice. She checked her calculations again and filled in the bubble with the letter _A_. The remaining three questions were simpler word problems. Her eyes flicked over them and she marked _B_, _C_, and another _A_.

She glanced at the timer on the table at the front of the room. A little less than half the time left. All of her test answers we correct. But standardized tests were not made to be solved with a perfect score in less than half the time given.

Delilah looked over her answers, choosing some of the harder questions and marking them with wrong answers. Just slightly wrong, but the grading machine didn't care about 'slightly wrong'.

Next to her, Adam stretched in his seat and passed a note to her.

_I wonder if Foxfire has standardized tests._

Delilah smiled and scribbled back. I don't think they do. But I'd be graduating Foxfire this year, wouldn't you?

_Yeah. You're eighteen, I'm sixteen so I'd be finishing either Level Five or Level Six. No tests like this must be nice. This royally sucks._

Her brother glanced around the room. Everyone else was still hunched over their papers, hard at work about halfway through the test, where they should be. _We should at least look busy. Even if this is so-easy-it's-hard kind of work._

_If you say so._ Delilah pulled out the sketchbook she used for scratch paper and tore out a new sheet. She set it down over her now-closed test booklet and began sketching their new horse. A dull blueish-black mustang with a white stripe down his face. Adam reached over and pulled the sheet away from her, adding another horse.

This one was Blaze, their father's palomino gelding. He was on the tall side, 15 hands and three inches. Adam sketched in the saddle, adding their father seated on his horse. Tall, dark waves shoved under his cowboy hat, cobalt eyes that were always laughing, Hollywood-worthy grin that never seemed to leave his face, 'cept when he talked about his work. The pin, his old family's crest, on his hat wasn't visible from his left side though, just the wide black ribbon it held in place.

"Everyone please put down your pencils. This test is over."

Delilah smiled as she gathered up her things and threw away the scratch paper she'd used, saving the hastily drawn picture.

Adam poked her in the shoulder before asking. "Do you know who's picking us up?"

"No, I don't. I think it's Aunt Nat. I'll call and ask." She did just that, lifting her flip phone to her ear as she followed her younger brother outside.

"Detective Freeman, NYPD. What can I do for you?"

"So, Aunt Natalie, do you know who's picking us up?"

"Turn around, Della, I'm already here."

Delilah sighed and hung up, turning around and joining her brother in their aunt's car.

"So how was testing, kiddos?"

Adam grinned. "Perfect score, but we had to fudge some of the answers."

Natalie sighed, staring at the horizon as she shifted the car into drive and left the parking lot. "You remind me of my sister."

**As clarification, they are not speaking telepathically to each other, they are passing notes.**


	2. The Moonlark is Dead

"Mama! MAMA!"

Sophie squinted through the thickening smoke at the small boy, balanced precariously on a burning beam. She could see his clouded eyes watching hers. He had no way of getting to her. But she was trapped in the burning remains and he had a way to the exit.

"Ry! Ry, listen to me!"

"Mama, I'm scared!" Tears pouring from dark, unseeing eyes.

"Ry, you're going to be okay! Just listen to Mommy okay? I'm going to get you out of here. Just listen to me!"

He nodded, starting to crawl towards her.

Sophie felt her breath catch in her throat. "NO! RY STOP! THERE'S A DROP! YOU'RE GOING TO FALL!"

The poor boy froze, only three feet from a twenty-foot drop into the flames below. "MAMA!"

"Go back, Ry! Go back three scooches, then I need you to stand up."

"But I'm scared Mama! I can't see!" He was clinging to the beam, shaking.

She crawled as close to the edge as she dared, forcing as much calm into her voice as she could. "Don't worry baby. I can see for you. Everything is going to be fine, I promise. Just do as I say!"

Ry scooched back to safety, away from the lethal drop.

"Now reach behind you! There's a beam you can use to pull yourself up!"

He was bawling now. "Mama, I'm scared!"

"Don't be, sweetheart. Everything is going to be okay. You're going to get out of here just fine!"

The tiny boy pulled himself upright, now facing away from her.

"Take ten steps forward!"

"I can't, Mama, I'm scared!"

"SOPHIE!" What remained of a burning door burst open and Fitz rushed through. He took stock of the situation and his eyes teared up. "Sophie…"

She stood, barely staying up. "Ry, Daddy's here! I need you to take ten steps forward. He's going to catch you, I promise."

Her son looked around wildly. "Papa?"

Fitz's face hardened and he started along the beam toward his son. "I'm coming baby, don't worry! Everything is going to be okay!"

"FITZ DON'T! IT WON'T HOLD YOU!"

He stopped, going back to solid footing. "Ry, obey your mother! Ten steps toward me!"

"Where are you? Daddy, I'm scared! I can't see anything!"

Fitz locked eyes with Sophie, both of them crying now. "Follow the sound of my voice and count ten steps. If I tell you to run, I need you to run in a straight line towards me!"

"But Mama!"

Sophie hated having to lie to her only son, but if she did not, he would not survive. "I'm okay, baby. I'm going to be safe. I'll see you outside. But you need to walk towards your father!"

Ry finally obeyed, taking timid steps towards Fitz.

_Sophie…_

The quiet telepathic call shattered the remains of her heart.

_I'm sorry Fitz._ Something broke above them and crashed down on the last tentative beam connecting Sophie's haven to the exit. _I didn't think goodbye would be like this._

Tears were streaming down his face, accentuating his eyes. _I love you, Sophie._

_I love you, Fitz._

Sophie could hear her voice break. "You're almost there, Ry! Keep going!"

"Mama, I'm scared!" His hands were stretched out in front of him, feeling for anything at all to guide him.

Fitz reached as far as he could, fingertips barely brushing his son's. "One more step, then take my hand! Everything is going to be okay!"

Ry took a single step forward and grabbed his father's outstretched hand. Fitz yanked him forward and picked him up.

"Get him out of here Fitz!"

"MAMA!"

"Sophie…"

"GO!" Sophie fell on her hands and knees, coughing. "_GO!_"

Fitz backed out of the room, holding Ry to his chest. He left Sophie's line of sight, but the mental connection remained.

The flames were licking up the skirt of her dress toward her and she could feel the platform shifting. If the flames didn't kill her, the fall would.

_Tell everyone I love them._

Fitz's mental anguish and grief washed over her. _I will. I love you, Sophie._

Sophie tried to answer, but the platform fell out under her and she only had time to transmit a crucial piece of information.

She felt strangely detached as the heat of the flames consumed her. But then the world was black, silent and void of feeling or thought.

_6369 N Sky Country Rd Blood Creek MT 30781. 48 63 19_

Fitz had no idea why Sophie had transmitted that, but the space of time for him to wonder this ended quickly. Searing pain ripped through his head and he stumbled. The boy in his arms jumped, looking up at his father.

"It's okay, Ry. Don't worry." He regained his footing, running down the remains of the grand staircase and finally out of the door and into fresh air. He shoved his son into someone's arms and collapsed on his hands and knees, coughing.

Hands lifted him up and the edge of a glass bottle touched his lips, emptying water into his mouth.

"Fitz, what happened in there?"

He didn't answer. He could barely think. Pain was searing through his brain.

"Fitz, can you hear me?"

His vision was blackening and he fell on his hands and knees on the grass again. Hands rolled him onto his back, but he barely felt them. The pain was ebbing, but what it had apparently consumed was leaving him nigh on helpless. It felt like half of himself was gone, leaving him with the absolute certainty that Sophie was dead.

He groaned, vision clearing. Keefe, Biana, and Dex were kneeling over him. Keefe helped him sit up, tipping the rest of a bottle of Youth down his throat.

"What happened in there?"

Fitz didn't register who asked the question, but he was able to answer. "She's gone. Sophie's dead."

The shock on their faces was easy for his brain to notice.

"How?" Biana whispered, assisting Keefe in helping him stand.

Fitz felt straggling tears begin to drip down his face. "She was trapped when I found her. Ry was stuck on a piece of the floor that hadn't fallen yet. She was trying to get him to crawl across a beam toward the doorway but he was too scared. She kept telling him that everything would be okay. I got Ry out, but not Sophie. She was trapped and there was nothing I could do. Then she told me to run, to get him out of there."

"Papa!" A tiny brunette head ran towards him and Fitz lifted his son into his arms. "Where's Mama?"

All eyes turned to the still-burning building. The interior roof collapsed, bringing what was left of Everglen down with it. "I'm so sorry, son. Your mother is gone."

A soft murmur of voices brought him back to awareness. There was a weight on his chest and on either side of him, which proved to be three of his seven children. One small brown head on his chest, another larger one on his left shoulder, and a slightly smaller blonde head on his right.

He could see his parents standing off to his right, each with a blonde child clinging to them for comfort. The last two blonde girls were sitting to the side, one curled up asleep in Biana's lap, the other leaning against Keefe's chest. Dex did not appear to be there or was not in his line of sight. Tam and Linh were sitting across from each other against the far wall, tossing a ball of water back and forth.

The larger brown head moved and dark orbs met his teal ones. The seven-year-old girl hugged him tightly and began to cry into his shoulder. The younger two children were apparently asleep.

"Fitz, you're awake." A soft hand gripped his and he looked up at his mother. "We heard, about Sophie."

He sighed. "I can't believe she's gone."

Della rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. "I'm so sorry. They're searching the wreckage now, they haven't found her body yet, but…no one's hopeful."

Fitz squeezed his eyes shut, finding himself unable to cry more than he already had. "Before she died, Sophie transmitted something to me. It didn't make any sense, which makes me think it's something human."

She rose and returned with a piece of paper and a pencil. "Write it down."

"Where are we anyway?" The grey and blue styling of the room, with arched windows that had white, curling frames was unfamiliar to him.

"Apparently Rimeshire. Dex brought us here. He's out talking to the council, giving them a modified version of what happened." Della took the paper from him and read the note aloud. "Six, three, six, nine North Sky Country Road, Blood Creek, Montana, and then the string of numbers. Three, zero, seven, eight, and one. I assume these mean something."

He moved Ry off his chest onto his lap and sat up. "Something crucial I hope. She gave me three other numbers: forty-eight, sixty-three, nineteen. I think they're leaping crystal angles, but why would she give us those?"

His mother moved his blonde daughter off of him and onto her lap. "Maybe they're the location of something she needs us to find."

Fitz sighed. "I wish she hadn't given us a puzzle. A name, a place, something."

Della stood, taking the girl with her. As she moved, the child's hair moved away from her collar, revealing the name _Destiny_ embroidered there. Della glanced at the name then back to him. "I'm going to take Destiny to Havenfield. Dex should be there by now. I'll let him know you're awake."

He watched his mother leave, then glanced at where Keefe and Biana sat, staring glassy-eyed at the floor.

"I can't believe it." Keefe dragged his hand down his face, leaving it to rest on the head of the blonde girl in his lap-her collar read _Hope_. "After everything we went through, _this_ is how it ends for Sophie."

"I know." Fitz gently kissed both brunette heads in front of him. "How are the kids taking it?"

Biana wiped tears away and whispered. "The quints are taking it the hardest, Miracle in particular. Jolie's heartbroken. Ry's actually taking it best considering his circumstances. He just says that she gave up her life to save him and doesn't really cry."

The child in Biana's lap, identical to her flaxen-haired sisters, looked up. Her collar said _Miracle_. "I miss Mommy."

"I know, I miss her too. Come here, baby." Fitz moved Ry off his lap and handed him to Biana taking Miracle into his arms. "What about everyone else?"

"Linh's beating herself up over not being able to stop the fire," Keefe answered. "Tam is breaking stuff. Marella had a bunch of Frosters seal her in a thick ice bubble then unleashed all her fiery fury. Dex is silent and just emotionless. Most everyone else just doesn't seem to believe or accept the reality that the great Sophie Foster, turned Sophie Vacker, the moonlark, is…gone."

Fitz closed his eyes, reliving the moment. The smoke and flames, Sophie's scream at her son to leave her and go, the beams groaning as Sophie's haven from the flames had fallen. "I can't believe it either and I watched it happen."

"Did she say anything, y'know, before she died?" Biana boosted Ry higher in her arms, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Yeah." He handed Keefe the paper, who glanced at it and passed it to Biana. "Do those numbers sound like path angles to you?"

"Forty-eight, sixty-three, and nineteen? Yeah, they do." The blond man pulled out his own pathfinder, spinning through the crystal's facets. "I don't know of any crystal with those angles though."

Fitz frowned. "I'll make a note to look into it. You can't find locations with Spyballs, can you?"

Keefe shook his head. "I doubt even Dex could make it do that. But you think it's something human, right? So maybe Dex could hack the human databases and find out what it means."

"Or maybe we could ask a human?" Biana commented. "We could call Amy."

"Huh. That's weird." Amy stared at the paper through the Imparter screen, reading it over and over again. "You're sure that's what she said? 6369 N Sky Country Rd Blood Creek Montana 30781?"

Fitz nodded. "She also gave us path angles, but I assumed this was separate. Do you know what this is?"

"Yup. It's an address for a human property somewhere in Montana."

"What's Montana?"

Amy looked momentarily confused. "What's Mon-oh wait, right, you're elves, you don't know." She paused, doing something on her phone, then held up the screen, pointing to a shape near the top left. "Montana is one of the fifty states in the U.S. This one right here."

Fitz squinted at it, not quite understanding. "Fifty states?"

"America is made up of fifty semi-independent states. There's Montana, which is the one in your address. You found Sophie in the city of San Diego in the state of California, this state on the west coast. I'm in New York, way over here. The state Sophie took you guys to for that beach vacation is Hawai'i, way out in the middle of the ocean." She swept her finger across the screen several times to show them Hawai'i.

"So what does the rest of it mean?"

"Wha- oh yeah. You guys don't know how addresses work. Well, you start with the house or building number. In this case, it's 3639. This number will be on the house itself and/or on the mailbox, which is where the mailman will put letter and things. Next is the street name. Here, it's Sky County Road. Then we have the town or city and the state. This house is in the town of Blood Creek, somewhere in the state of Montana. The last five numbers are the zip code. The zip code is there for big cities and gives the mailman an area that this house or business is in.

"So if we were to send something to this location, the post office would first send it to Montana. Then the big post office in Montana would see that this letter goes to Blood Creek. So it goes with all the other letters for that town there. In the Blood Creek post office, the letters get divvied up by the house and general area. The mailman who gets this letter would see the street name and go to Sky Country Road. Then he or she would look for the house or mailbox with the number 3639 and leave the letter there. Did that make sense?"

Fitz nodded. "So can you find what's at the address?"

"Yup. I looked it up and the property at this address belongs to a woman named Annie Brodwick. She's got six kids ranging in age from eighteen to three. Records say she's married, but I can't find anything on her husband, somebody named Alvar Brodwick, according to their marriage certificate."

He sucked in a breath. "Alvar?"

"Yeah. But don't get too excited. Alvar is actually a fairly popular name for both boys and girls. There's several thousand in the police database and probably more that aren't. I highly, highly doubt this has anything to do with your brother."

Keefe sighed. "Seems like a dead end."

"Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I'll do some more digging into this Alvar Brodwick and see what I can find."

"Thanks, Amy." Fitz ended the call and sighed. "It looks like the address doesn't mean anything. Has Biana said anything about the path angles?"

"Nothing so far. Unless she hailed me and I didn't notice."

"She's right here." Biana stepped into the room. "I didn't have to look very far. Someone showed me a single-facet crystal they found in the wreckage with those angles. But the crystal is damaged beyond repair and they said a new one will have to be carved. We'll have to wait several days for it."

Keefe sighed. "And Amy didn't come up with anything, but she knows where the address is and we have a name. Which is useless without knowing why this is important to Sophie."

"So we're stuck." Fitz slumped in his chair, rubbing his daughter's back. She mumbled something and snuggled into him. "What'd you say"-he checked her collar- "Hope?"

"I want Mommy back."

"I know, sweetheart, I do too."

An Imparter's ring broke through the atmosphere. Keefe answered it with dead, emotionless eyes. Della's voice broke through.

"You need to come, now! All of you! Leave the children at Candleshade, Destiny's already there. You need to see this."

"Where are you?" Fatalistic panic was clear in Keefe's voice and on his face.

Della's heavy breathing delayed her response. "Havenfield. Hurry!"

Fitz, Keefe, and Biana touched down in Havenfield. The normally peaceful and serene animal preserve was punctured by shouts and the roars of creatures.

Della stood by the gate down to the ocean, looking panicked. The gate itself was open.

"Come see."

They followed her down to the base of Havenfield's cliffs. The area consisted of large rocks, some splintered into smaller ones by the constant pounding surf. Fitz had been here several times before.

However, there had never been a red tint to the water.

Della led them out farther into the rocks. "There."

Keefe was the first to recover from what they saw. "Is that Dex?"

They scrambled over the rocks toward his broken body. Fitz knelt next to his head, noting the amount of blood on the rock and in the water surrounding it. There was no way Dex had survived.

"Who found him?" Biana's voice was hoarse and grief-ridden and Fitz understood. Two death in less than twelve hours.

"The gnomes. They found blood on a rock above where we are now and looked over to see what fell."

Keefe hugged Biana tightly, letting her cry on his shoulder. "Do his kids know?"

Della shook her head. "He was found while I was here. I hailed you as soon as his body was spotted."

Fitz sighed and reached over to close Dex's one remaining eye. "I'll take Biana home and let them know."

Keefe nodded, passing Biana to him. "I can direct things here. Make sure no one else drops dead?"

"Of course."

Biana was finding it difficult to keep her balance, so Fitz wrapped his arm around her waist. "Do you think it's time we read everyone in?"

"Not everyone." Her voice was hollow but surprisingly steady. "Everyone that matters."

"Okay. Who do you want me to get?"

"The kiddos. Everyone's parents. Sandor. Ro. Marella. Tam and Linh. Councillors Oralie and Bronte, but only if they give you their solemn oath this information will not be shared with the Council."

Fitz glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "_Everyone_'s parents?"

"With discretion, Fitz."

"Of course, dear sister."

Biana sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "What do you think happened? Dex has wonderful balance. He wouldn't fall if he were trying to."

"If I were giving you my honest opinion? From the way he landed, the blood on the rock at the top of the cliff, and that fact, somebody pushed him."

"Who?"

"I wouldn't know."

She sighed, straightening. "I can get myself home. Don't worry. I won't break down until later tonight."

Fitz gave her a painful smile. "Okay. I think I'll check on Grady and Edaline and maybe look through Sophie's things and see if she hid anything there."

"Okay." Biana took a deep breath, then stepped into the beam of light.

He turned to face the large house, sighing. This would be hard for all parties. Fitz kicked a rock, then winced when it didn't move. He glared down at it, then realized it was not a rock. He pulled it out of the ground and started cleaning off the dirt.

It was shaped like a large egg, with raised squares all around it. There was also a rectangular block at the top of the egg with a metal ring attached. Whatever it was, it wasn't elven.

Something was tickling him in the back of his mind. He knew what this object was, but he couldn't for the life of him remember.

His Imparter shifted in his pocket. Fitz jumped slightly, then pulled it out and whispered into it, "Show me Amy Foster."

Her face appeared almost instantly. She looked very sleepy, brunette curls tied up loosely on her head and green eyes half-closed. From the view, she had apparently leaned the Imparter up against something on her table. There was a cup of coffee in her hand and the digital clock behind her read 5:15. A bit early for her to already be dressed for work, complete with her police badge over the left breast pocket.

"Why are you calling me at freaking five in the morning? I mean, I was already up because I have to be clocked in at work in forty-five minutes, but you could've at least let me finish my coffee."

"Well, it's not five in the morning here and I need to show you something." He held up the object in his hand and her entire demeanour changed.

Amy jumped back from the screen, almost dropping her mug. She covered her mouth and whispered shakily, "Turn it around slowly."

Fitz did, not understanding her apparent panic.

She relaxed slightly, apparently seeing what she wanted to see. "Fitz, that is a live grenade. Why the heck is that in the Lost Cities?"

"Is it a human weapon?"

Amy nodded. "Fitz, that is a bomb. It explodes. I need you to check everywhere within about fifty feet. There might be another one."

Fitz paced off his steps and walked in a circle around the hole the grenade had been in. "Nothing."

"Okay. That grenade isn't set to go off, so you're safe for now. Have someone seal it in a box where it can't move around and bring it to me later today. But now I have to leave for work. Talk to you later." Amy ended the call and he tucked his Imparter away.


	3. A Nation Grieves

**This is a bit of a love it or hate it chapter. Sorry.**

**The dragon in the chapter is a tribute to my AMAZING history teacher Mr. C. **

Jolie slowly did up the buttons on the back of her sister's dress. She used to love the colour green. It meant hope and life and things that grew. There was the light green on the tips of leaves when the sun hits them just right. There was the beautiful emerald green her mama used to wear a certain day every summer. Sometimes Father's eyes looked more green than blue when he laughed.

Her own dress was deep forest green. It was modest and simple, meant to help her blend in. Minimal frills and fuss, but it was pretty.

And she hated it. She couldn't stand the colour green anymore. Every time someone remarked on her beautiful she looked, she could only remember what she was wearing it for.

Her mother's funeral.

She finished fastening up the buttons on the last quint's dress and picked up the pile of lightweight capes. She checked the collar of one of them. "Faith, this one's yours."

One of the five identical blondes stepped forward, taking her cape and fastening it around her throat.

"Lucky."

"Fortune, Jo. No nicknames today."

Jolie handed Hope, Destiny, and Miracle their capes then picked up her own. While all her sister's capes were fastened with a Vacker pin, hers had always been one of her mother's moonlark pins. Not today.

"Go outside and wait for Uncle Keefe. Don't forget we need to use formal titles today."

The quintuplets grabbed each other's hands, sharing glances between them and nodding in unison.

Jolie hitched up her skirt and climbed the staircase to the upper floor of Cliffside. This was probably the last time she would see the inside of her beloved home. She and her sisters were going to live with Mama's parents while what remained of Everglan was salvaged and rebuilt.

She slipped a key out of her pocket and unlocked her parent's door. Father always insisted she carry that key, but they would never tell her why it was locked.

It probably had something to do with the safe in the right-hand wall.

Jolie ignored the DNA sensor on the front and went straight to the number keypad. It was styled like a human flip phone, with each of the numbers representing two or three letters.

_Seven, one, three, five, five._ She typed the numbers in, watching the keys she'd pressed light up and air hissed as the safe opened.

There were only a few things in the safe, but she only needed one.

She picked up the bottle of eyedrops that sat on a middle shelf. She had only used them once before and would likely never use them again. The locking mechanisms clicked back into place and she turned to the mirror that hung above her mother's now-unused vanity.

The girl that looked back at her had brown eyes to match her hair. Deep and soulful without a hint of Father's blue behind them. Unlike her mother, she had reddish-gold undertones that made the brown seem warmer. While the gold flecked through her beloved mama's eyes had always meant love and kindness, she had seen the familiar darkness become so cold it burned.

Jolie sighed and twisted off the cap of the eyedrops, putting three drops into each eye. Each drop left behind searing pain in her eyes, but when she looked in the mirror that hung next to her bedroom door, she saw the warm, honey-flecked brown she inherited from her mother had become a vibrant teal-blue.

The colour had never seemed cold to her.

She took a deep breath and shoved those thoughts from her mind. Just for today.

"Hey, baby girl."

Jolie concealed her startle and turned. "Hey, Daddy."

She'd never seen Father wear green before and she didn't like it. Yes, his deep green tunic and pants were flattering, but she hated the colour on him.

His sad smile faded when he saw her eyes. "Ready to go?"

She nodded, rubbing her eye. "I hope this is the last time I have to wear this stuff."

"I hope so too kiddo. It's always jarring to look at you and not see your mother's eyes." He took her hand and they walked downstairs. The quints were no longer waiting on the cobblestone and sea glass path. A graceful white stone fence separated the front porch from the sheer cliffs down to the pounding surf. Mama had always loved the view. "Keefe took the quints on ahead. Ry is staying behind today."

Jolie nodded, gripping Father's hand tighter. "Are we coming straight home?"

"No. We're going to Dawnfire afterwards. Aunt Biana has to talk to everyone." He pulled out his pathfinder, hands shaking as he selected the facet for the Wandeling Woods. Father stared at the beam of light as if waiting for something. "I never thought the day would come when we would need to employ the contingency plan." Then he stepped forward into the light and they were whisked away.

Jolie wasn't sure what she expected out of the Wanderling Woods and she wasn't sure if it met those expectations. All she could do was keep her eyes trained on the ground and follow Father, still gripping his hand tightly.

Uncle Keefe was standing near the front, eyes red and paler than normal, with Aunt Linh on his arm. Aunt Linh always looked pretty, even with her eyes red and puffy and wearing a green dress that really wasn't right on her. It didn't fit the way it was made to, making the bulge of her pregnancy look more apparent than it's measly five months.

The quints sat in a line on the grass arranged in an instinctive line from oldest to youngest. The only way to distinguish one from another was the names embroidered on the collars of their capes.

"Hey, Jojo." A blonde girl with pale blue eyes waved to her. Her dress was frillier than Jolie's, with more jewels and ruffles. But the aura of playful insanity that usually surrounded her was gone.

"Hey, Maria."

"Where's your brother?"

"He's not coming."

She nodded.

Jolie joined her sisters on the grass, absentmindedly pulling up handfuls and tossing it away. There were more soft footsteps and muttered greetings among the adults. She didn't really pay attention until Father telepathically whispered for them to stand.

The Council was here.

Mama's words echoed in her head. _The Council are not our enemies, but you should never, ever trust them._

She gripped Father's hand tightly. Watching ten familiar faces appear and two new ones.

_Father, where are Councillors Oralie and Bronte?_

_I don't know. This isn't good. You and your sisters go home now. I'll cover for you._

Jolie pulled out her home crystal and led her sisters away through the crowd into the trees. She made all her sisters link hands and leapt them home. The quints immediately went inside. Jolie hitched up her skirt and started climbing up the steep rock steps carved into the cliff. She was panting and out of breath by the time she reached the top, the entrance to a large cave. A gentle smoke was rising from a hole in the roof. She sat down next to the entrance and waited.

There was a soft rumble and heavy footsteps came toward her. A large dragon's head and neck emerged from the cave. He laid his head down next to her. Jolie enjoyed the company of this particular dragon. He was the only dragon she knew of who had a moustache.

They were really horns growing from his snout but paired with the giant 'eyebrows' and sky-blue scales, they made him look old and wise. He rarely started the conversation, simply slapping down the elaborate gold cane he carried for no reason and waiting for her to state her reason for coming.

"I think the Council had something to do with my mother's death."

"I see."

"They replaced Oralie and Bronte without telling anyone."

"Oh, that's too bad. I liked Oralie. She was the pretty blonde, right?"

Jolie nodded.

"Did I ever tell you about one of the classes I taught? It was in this little village way up in the mountains of China. There were a bunch of little girls whose parents wouldn't send them to school and a bunch of little boys whose parents couldn't afford to send them to school. So I'd tell them all about history and arithmetic, and teach them to read and write. Now, you see, the Council didn't like that very much. We weren't supposed to be interfering with the humans." He shook one claw and gave her a mock-serious look. "I did eventually stop, but only because the children stopped coming."

"The Council probably had their memories washed."

The dragon sighed, adjusting his giant spectacles. "I know. But I persevered in my quest to impart knowledge on the next generation. Or whichever generation was the young ones. So I was flying around the Lost Cities, collecting information and writing in all down. Even the things people tried to erase from history. Especially those things."

She glanced at the long scars on his back. "So they cut off your wings and chained you in a cave so they could keep their world perfect."

"And then I met your mother. She was a wonderful woman. I provided her with all my books and writings and things and she gave me more paper and ink and told me what was happening in the world."

"I know that part." Jolie curled in in a ball and sighed. "I don't know what I should do about the Council."

"Nothing!" He grinned, showing all his teeth. "For now. You're only ten years old. Your mom didn't start saving the world until she was twelve."

"I wish the Black Swan still existed. They always knew what to do."

The dragon removed his spectacles, showing her the sign on the swan curving around one lens. "They do still exist. Your parents were part of the Black Swan. So are a lot of your extended family. And so are you and your cousins. You're the future of the Black Swan."

"Thanks, _Cecil_."

His tender smile vanished and he replaced his glasses. "Did you just call me Cecil?"

"Yes."

"No, that's not okay."

"Okay, Cecil." Jolie felt her lips forming a bit of a smile.

"No, no, no, it's Mr. C or Lord Bluestar."

"Cecil."

"Stop it. That's an old guy's name."

"But you are an old guy!"

"No, I am a venerable, well-aged Dragon Lord." He stuck his snout in the air, pretending to be haughty. "I am most certainly not an 'old guy'."

She giggled. "Yes you are."

He huffed in defeat, smoke curling from under his moustache.

Jolie stood, brushing the dirt off of her skirt. "I'll come back with some more ink and blank books for you if you want. But I have to go now. Aunt Biana said she has something to tell us."

"More writing supplies would be wonderful. Thank you, young one." The dragon turned, chains clinking softly, and walked back into his cave.

Father was waiting for her when she got back down the stairs. He'd changed out of the green clothes and into a tunic she recognized as her mother's favourite. It was dark blue with simple silver embroidery. The quints had also changed into identical pale blue dresses.

"Do you want to change before we go?"

"No. This is fine." Jolie took Father's hand and one of the quints grabbed her other hand. Probably Hope.

The pathfinder Father pulled out was one she had never seen before. She had seen blue crystals, and clear one and green ones and yellow ones and even a pink one once.

She had never seen a red crystal before.

Father twisted it and set in one of its few facets. "This might be a little more turbulent of a leap than you're used to. I'll be lending you some of my concentration. If something feels off, I need you to concentrate as hard as you can and wait until we land to tell me." He waited for six answering nods. Then he lifted the pathfinder to the light and they were whisked away.

Fitz doubted he would ever get used to the strange feeling he got whenever he leapt to Dex

and Biana's house. Although it was just Biana's house now. He would have to remember that. His daughters were shaky when they landed. The second quint from the right, which would be Destiny, seemed to be the worst off, but he attributed that to her predisposition to shaky light leaps of any sort. But they recovered quickly and turned to the great house behind them.

Dawnfire was unlike any elven residence he knew existed. It sat in the valley between seven unnatural mountain peaks. The house itself was solid stone architecture, more like something the dwarves or ogres would build than the elves. But it had a distinct flavour of elven design in the swooping towers and silver roofing. And even in a world of mansions and palaces, it at least doubled whatever the previous record had been. Fitz had no idea why it was that massive, he'd only been in less than a quarter of the rooms, but he was assured, every room was used weekly if not daily.

But he hated seeing the fires lit on the top of two of the mountain's peaks. The location for the house had been chosen for a rather morbid reason, back when they weren't sure if any of them would survive the war. Seven peaks for seven people, one for a memorial to each person who died. That had always been under the assumption that one of their eight would survive.

He walked up to the massive front door, carved almost entirely of metal. Jolie gripped his hand and the quintuplets kept the distance between them small. The things carved into the door made him shiver; ancient draconic runes and wards inscribed on the door to protect the whole residence. Some were simply to provide those who entered good luck. Others were complex to the point of sentience to protect the residents from evil.

Fitz gripped the heavy brass door knocker and dropped it against the plate. The boom echoed through hidden pipes in the house and triggering a rhythmic series of bells. The door opened before the bells stopped and his niece stepped out.

Maya had the same relaxed red curls and flashing teal eyes as her twin brother Prentice, but her features held a distinctive feminine touch. She was wearing green, although she and her siblings had not attended their father's funeral for reasons Biana had declined to reveal. But instead of a dress, it was a minimally decorated tunic and leggings.

"Uncle." She inclined her head, making the sunlight glint strangely off of her cheekbones and jawline as if it had struck crystal. "Naneth is waiting for you inside. Everyone else is already here."

Fitz nodded, following her to a room he had seen but never entered before. It defied the stone, rock and castle aesthetic followed throughout the rest of the house.

Four massive trees framed the room, one growing in each corner. The roots and branches wove together to form seats while a large stone disk set on a solid base formed a table. Keefe, Linh, Biana, Tam, Sandor, Ro, both his and Sophie's parents, as well as Dex's mom, sat around the table. Maria and Prentice, and tall, teal-eyed redhead with sharper features than his twin, sat next to their parents. Maya took the empty seat between her mother and brother, hands clasped in her lap and oddly tense. Fitz took the chair one space over from Linh. Jolie sat to his left and the quints sat in a line as was their habit.

Biana took a deep breath and stood. "As you all know, Sophie and Dex just lost their lives in what were likely deliberate attacks. In light of the fact that we as the Black Swan are being targeted, there is information that we, myself, my children, and Julene, need to read you in on."

"This information is classified to the point the Council _cannot ever_ learn it. If anything I am about to tell you leaves this room, I cannot emphasize enough the kind of consequences that would bring. I understand that some of you may have more extreme reactions to this information and we ask that you please remain as calm as you can while we explain."

He saw his parents tense. Alden swallowed and asked, "What do you need to tell us?"

"This kind of information is best shown."

He felt a shimmer of power come from her and glanced around the room, gauging reactions. His parents looked horrified, clearly hoping their eyes were deceiving them. Grady and Edaline stared in numb disbelief. Ro paused in studying her nails and stared in openmouthed shock. Julene was staring at her lap, waiting for the onslaught. Sandor was halfway out of his seat, letting slip a few goblin curses.

Fitz already knew what he was going to see when he looked up, but it never ceased to surprise him.

A pair of muscular, blue wings stretched from Biana's shoulders, each one larger than her.

**Review for tidbits on what happens next! Follows and favourites are great too. Opening my computer to all ya'lls feedback is amazing!**


	4. I'll Be Home For Christmas

"Della, turn that off! It's the middle of May! What are you playin' Christmas music in the middle of May for?"

"I'll listen to Christmas music whenever the heck I want Daniel! I don't have to listen to you!" Delilah yelled back and ignored her little brother's voice yelling up the stairs. She was pretending to work on her last essay for English, but in reality, she was looking through the scrapbook her mom had made the year the twins were born and blasting Trans-Siberian Orchestra as she did.

She turned the page to one that was bright pink and yellow. She smiled at her five-year-old self in those pictures, wearing her first cowboy hat, blowing out her candles and looking for all intents and purposes like a perfectly happy child celebrating her fifth birthday. Ripping open presents faster than anyone could take pictures and stuffing her face.

That had been the worst day of her life. Because her dad hadn't been there. Even thirteen years later, she remembered the ache in her chest every time she'd opened a present and realized her dad wasn't there to see it.

"Delilah, are you done with your homework? I need you to make rolls because we have company tonight!"

Oh. Right. Company. "Coming Mom!" She shelved the scrapbook and trotted down their narrow stairs, turning off her music and shoving her phone in her pocket.

Her mother was short, at least a head shorter than Della. She had her bright red hair in two braids and arms crossed across her chest, dark eyes flashing. "You weren't working, were you?"

"Not really. But I'm almost done! I promise!"

"Your dad would be disappointed. But hurry up and get those rolls done and rising. Then we need to get those veggies steaming and ribs in the oven. Also, I need you to work Green Eggs and Ham before everyone gets here."

Della followed her mother to the kitchen and rinsed her hands briefly. "The horses, not the book, right?"

"Of course the horses. I have the Zac Brown Band CD in the player. Feel free to hit play unless you want to listen to something else."

"Thanks, Mom." She pulled the flour, salt, yeast and a bowl from the cupboard, measuring and adding water my memory. She decided to forgo a spoon and mixed it together with her hands, tipping the dough onto the counter. "Hey Siri, play my Lord of the Rings playlist."

The automated voice answered from her pocket. "I found this on the web for Landon Rimmer player."

Delilah sighed and pulled her phone out of her pocket telekinetically. "No, Siri, play my Lord of the Rings Playlist." She shoved the dough back into its bowl and washed her hands.

"Okay. Calling Leah Rimgar."

"Ugh, you stupid lump of metal!" Della hit the end call button. "Fine, I'll do it myself!" She opened her phone and started her playlist. "I bet elves never have this problem with Imparters! Although Imparters don't play music."

She whistled along to the various tracks of the score to all three movies as she kneaded the dough. The bowl was already oiled so she dumped to dough in a covered it with plastic wrap before setting in it the sun. She checked on the vegetables to make sure they weren't overcooking as Adam entered to retrieve a bottle of the family's homemade barbecue sauce.

Delilah checked the list on the fridge. "Dough for rolls is risin', veggies are steamin', Adam's 'bout to do the ribs, Abuela's bringin' tamales, Tammy's bringin' pasta salad, Uncle Sam's got mashed taters, and Aunt Maddie's said she's makin' pie. Don't know why we need 'tato salad and mashed ones, but it's on the list and Cousin Kit's bringing that. Grammy's got ice cream and Gramps is bringing extra chairs. Uncle Butch said he'd bring tables and May's bringing chairs. Did I get it all right?"

Her brother shrugged. "It sounds right."

She left him to his work, walking over to the wall of pictures above their fireplace. The largest one right in the middle was of their whole family. Her parents were in the middle. Even though her mother was on her father's lap, her head was barely level with his. She was standing behind her father to the left and Adam was on her right.

The twins, Sophia and Frederic, were standing on either side of their parents. Sophia was glaring at the camera while Freddy was giving his biggest smile. Yin and yang, as always. Sophia was the only one to not have their father's wavy hair. It was stick-straight and blonde. Frederic's hair was almost identical to his father's as were his blue eyes.

Bianca was leaning on her mom's knee, dark waves, falling in her face. She was missing her front tooth in that picture.

The baby of the family was David. He was the only one to inherit their mom's red hair. It lay in soft waves on his head. He was grinning and clinging to his dad's left hand.

Della studied the crest on all of her family's hats. Golden wings on a blue background. Her father had given each of them theirs when they turned five. Even though she knew he hated the reminder of the world that abandoned him.


	5. Dragon By Blood And Birth

Lines of delicate blue clicked into place along Biana's face and exposed skin, with larger scales on her forearms and shoulders and tiny one around her eyes. The table was too large for Fitz to see the delicate lines that marked the division between scales or the closed position she kept them in, indicating her unease. But he'd seen her shift enough to know what they looked like.

"I know you have questions. Please ask them one at a time."

Fitz didn't have to be an Empath to know his father was about to explode. Alden turned to his wife and was about to start yelling when Biana forestalled his outburst. "I know exactly what you're thinking and it's not true. I'm still your biological daughter. I actually share more DNA with you than I do Mom."

Alden slumped, staring at her wings. "Then _how_?"

"That's only partly my story to tell." Biana glanced at Julene, waiting for her to start.

Dex's mom sighed, staring at her hands. "It's not really my story either, but I suppose I am the best equipped to tell it. Kesler's real name is Chyvren, son of Liani, Clan Cliffbreaker. He's probably the last of his kind by now. The great wild dragons, often referred to as the Great Titans. They were already rare to near the point of extinction when we met. What remained of his clan heavily disapproved of his decision to marry me, but there was nothing they could do. When dragons choose their love, even being too far away from that person will cause them to become extremely ill and eventually die.

"He stripped himself of all of his draconic powers. Telepathy, the ability to shift out of his elven form, anything and everything to do with fire, light, energy, earth. His ability to control all the elements. He was so sick for several days as his body recovered from the loss of its primary source of energy. I told him everything I could about abilities and skills. He said it would be easier to pretend to be Talentless than to use one power and suppress the others. I don't know how he integrated himself into elven society. But he registered himself and showed me all the paperwork. No one noticed anything was wrong.

"The real problems started when Dex turned four. Kesler had always told me that part of my genetics would render any of his draconic traits unable to be expressed. He was wrong. Dex was out playing with the triplets in the backyard while I cleaned when one of them, Lex I think, came running in saying Dex could fly. I assumed he meant levitating, but when I got to the door." She shivered. "He had brown wings coming out of his back. I told him to get down immediately from the tree he was in and hailed Kesler. He told me he would have to Obliviate the memories from all four of them." Julene glanced around the room, gauging reactions to her story.

"Obliviation is different from washing or shattering. He described it to me this way: Washing is like tying a slip knot in a string. Give it a tug and you have the memory back. Shattering is like tying a square knot. It can be very difficult to undo, but it can be done. Obliviation is like cutting a section of string out and tying the ends together. No matter how hard the person tries, they can't get that memory back because it isn't there to get back.

"The next day, I mentioned it to Dex to see how he'd react. He had absolutely no recollection of the day. He'd reconstructed the previous day's events using his imagination and accepted it as truth. And that's my part of this story. I joined the Black Swan because Kesler didn't want to. He Obliviated himself to help me keep it a secret. He said the chance of him getting caught would increase too much."

"That's where I come in." Biana sat back down, wings shifting forward. "I'm just going to be repeating the facts I was told. First of all, a dragon _needs_ a clan. They're extremely social and need to surround themselves with equals in power. Dex was doing this subconsciously. When he first met Sophie, his elven side saw what everyone else saw. His dragon side saw everything else. Scent. Pheromones. Posture. General thoughts and emotions. He knew she wasn't normal. She was like him in a way. So his subconscious marked her as a clan member. As our friend group grew to include Fitz, myself, Keefe, Tam and Linh, I was told that they also became his clan to his draconic side. The only difference is his subconscious selected me to pass these traits on to." She reached up to stroke one wing.

"Please don't ask me how he did it without realizing, no one knows how dragon's minds work, even us. But somehow he slowly changed my DNA to more closely resemble his, starting when we became friends. He was doing it to everyone, enhancing our powers, sharpening our minds, helping Linh especially keep control, things like that. Persuasion in the right places to make sure our plans went the way they were supposed to. He had no control over this and didn't know he could do that until we were told that's what happened."

They sat in silence until Edaline straightened. "Why you?"

Biana shrugged, wings shifting with the movement. "We don't know. For some reason, his mind picked me. That's the only information we have."

"So you're part dragon?" Della spoke up.

"Half, actually. I'm considered a Dragonborn. Dex is-was-a dralf. He is a half-breed by birth, I am a half-breed by blood. I know the distinction is important. Apparently Dragonborn have always been rare, but they used to be less rare. I was told I'm the last of my kind."

"Wow," Alden whispered. "This is…a lot. You're saying that your genetics were altered by Dex subconsciously and that both of you are half-dragon."

Biana nodded.

"He is the son of the last Great Titan."

Julene murmured an affirmation.

"And someone just had him killed."

"That's what it looks like. And the fire last week. That wasn't meant for Sophie. It was meant for me. I was supposed to be babysitting Ry that day so Sophie could go out by herself. But then I got called away suddenly by pure chance and so Sophie came back to watch her son. Her death was an accident."

Ro stood up, having apparently processed the information thoroughly. "Okay. I'm used to weird stuff. Talking people made of Everblaze? Seen that. Hundreds of thousands of alicorns marching in battle? I marched with them. Crazy instructors with questionable methods? Well they worked. But this? The ogres idolized the Dragonborn for centuries. And now I find out there's one standing in front of me. I just want to know if you can turn into a dragon all the way. Not just the wing and scales part."

Biana nodded. "I can't do it in here with everyone in here, there's not in enough room, but I can do it."

Keefe broke his silence. "Sandor, Grady, you're awful quiet."

Sandor let out a squeaky sigh. "I already knew. I caught them training and they had to explain."

Grady looked up at Julene. "How did he suppress all those abilities?"

She sighed. "He used the small silver bracelets that looked like nexuses. He called them Guarders. He told me they had thin lines of ice in them from some sort of magical creature whose ice could block powers. They turned invisible when he had them on. He said that is he used his powers with them on, it would turn the magical energy into heat and burn him. He also put the magic ice in his registry pendant to block his telepathy."

Fitz decided against adding his piece to the conversation. Something was nudging him in the back of his mind. Then it hit him.

Biana's scales weren't sparkling and reflecting the light the way they should be. As he continued studying her, he noticed that her eyes were distinctly less bright than they had been earlier that day. They were starting to look more grey than teal.

It was probably her grief. He'd read that sorrow could cause dragons to deteriorate temporarily.

Abruptly, Destiny fell out of her chair and began seizing on the floor. Della's eyes went wide and she screamed. Fitz stood and walked over to his daughter, ignoring the panicked shouts of those around him. He lifted her into his arms. She was wide-eyed, blue eyes gone white. Words poured from her mouth in voices that was not her own. Eventually, she settled on a high soprano voice, singing a verse Fitz had only heard before once and knew his daughter had no way of knowing.

_Seek for the Sword that was broken_

_In Imladris it dwells._

_There shall be counsels taken_

_Stronger than Morgul spells._

_There shall be shown a token_

_That Doom is near at hand_

_For Isildur's Bane shall waken_

_And a Halfling forth shall stand._

Her eyes cleared and she took several deep breaths. Biana called for silence and the room quieted.

Fitz lifted his daughter into his lap. "Destiny, what did you see?"

In her own voice, she whispered. "A woman, with red hair in a flowy green dress. She had dark eyes and she was dancing with a tall man with dark hair and blue eyes. He was wearing elvin clothes and holding a moonlark chick behind his back. There was a great white eye hanging above them and there was smoke around them. I saw a figure in a black cloak with a white eye symbol on it smash the man's head in with a mace. The moonlark chick struck a rock and died. Then an ogre dragged the woman away and threw her in a cell with a little girl about Ry's age. She had brown hair and green eyes and she was glowing and manipulating light like she was a Flasher. Then I woke up."

The entire room was silent and he realized that the quintuplets' unique abilities had been as secret as Biana's draconic blood. "I should probably explain."

One of the other quints helped Destiny to her feet and they lined up next to the wall.

"The quints each have the same five abilities. As far as I know, they are Empathy, Mesmer, Fateseeker, Telepathy and Inflicting. Each of them is stronger with one ability that the others. Hope is the stronger Empath, Destiny is the stronger Fateseeker, Faith is the stronger Mesmer, Fortune is the stronger Inflictor, and Miracle is the stronger Telepath.

"Fateseeking is unique to Destiny. It means that every so often, she has a sort of seizure, like she just did. Sometimes she's able to describe what she sees or she recites a piece of poetry while she's seizing. When she comes out of it, she's able to tell us all of what she's seen. Most of the time, she's seen a piece of the future that we need to either make happen or avoid. Sometimes, as she did this time most likely, she sees something happening in the present that we need to know about. Once or twice, she's seen a bit of the past. It's usually in a metaphorical sense."

The quints nodded in unison. The second from the right said, "That's about it. Sometimes things are hard to describe so either Mother or Father would retrieve the memory. We also inherited Mother's photographic memory, so clarity is never a problem."

No one had anything to say. Alden checked the time and excused himself and Della, saying he had a meeting with the Council. The others made similar excuses, leaving one by one except for Sandor and Ro, who took up their guard posts but the room's two doors.

Biana leapt over the table to stand by her brother. She tucked her wings into her back and the scales vanished in her skin. "Do we continue with the plan?"

"We may not have a choice at this point."

She nodded. "Maya, Prentice, take your cousins outside to play please."

They obeyed ushering Jolie, the quints and Maria outside. Sandor followed.

The table shrank and several of the chairs sank into the floor. Three more formed out of the roots around a much smaller table. Fitz took the empty seat nearest him and Biana sat to his right.

The door opened and Tam strode in, shoving his red pathfinder into its pocket. "Sorry I'm late, although I don't think I missed anything. The ogres took a bit to convince without Ro there. But then Dimitar showed up and told them that anyone of our group or their children were to be allowed into Ravagog without question, Markchain or not."

"So the contingency plan is set to go?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah. Anyone who wants Ry will have to go through all of Ravagog first. They built a house using the same safety precautions as their deepest, most secure vaults. It's in an elven style and all of the furniture gives off a mild but noticeable heat signature for him. He seemed pretty happy, but when he realized that I wasn't going to stay with him, we had trouble." He slid into an empty seat.

Ro sighed, walking over to the table. "Now my notice of reassignment makes sense. My dad sent me a letter saying I was going to be coming back home. Is there anything else I should know about this contingency plan?"

Keefe nodded. "After Jolie was born, Sophie called all of us together and said that we needed some sort of plan to keep our children safe in case of something like this. Where they would go if an attempt on any of our lives succeeded. She said one of us wasn't much, but two or more could pose a danger to them."

"We changed our arrangements after each child was born." Linh rested her hands on her stomach. "The quints shook things up since we didn't want them all together. That would make them too easy to identify. But after Ry was born, we solidified a plan and said that any other children would be housed with whoever we trusted to take them."

All Ro had to say was "Huh."

Fitz folded his arms. "Ry was to go to Ravagog. We settled this with Dimitar before he was born. The quints are each going to a member of the Black Swan, but Hope will stay with Grady and Edaline. Maria's staying with Lord Cassius. Maya and Prentice go to Julene. I don't know where the rest of Biana's children are going. She wouldn't tell me."

"You're missing one. Where's Jolie going?"

He sighed. "Jolie is enrolled in a San Diego private elementary school to start fifth grade this coming school year. She'll be staying with Amy, who is soon going to be laid off due to budget cuts will move back to California and get a job in the San Diego police force. She's a…special case."

The ogre princess nodded. "So what about you guys? You wouldn't send all your kids to live with someone else if you would be here."

Tam fiddled with the leather cord around his neck. "So you know how we all refuse to wear registry pendants and don't let our kids wear them? Once we have all our kids somewhere safe, we're going to disappear. We look young enough to pass for college age in the human world. So we're going to find a random human city, enroll in a university there, and live our lives as humans. Sophie made sure we had the tools and knowledge to look and act normal. We transferred a single lustre from Sophie's birth fund and split it into bank accounts for all of us. We vanish, our kids live with minimal upset, everybody's happy until we get back."

Linh nodded. "Since I'm pregnant, Keefe and I will stay together and instead of going to college, I'm going to use the college degree I already have and get a job. My human identity has a good reputation, so that won't be hard."

"So you guys are just gonna pick a random city in the world and live there. Sounds cool."

Keefe grinned and shook his head. "Actually, this part's been set since Jolie was born. I'm going to Hanze University of Applied Sciences for a degree in Fine Arts, which is painting and dance and music, that sort of thing. So Linh and I will be in The Netherlands, which is a country in Europe. She's got a degree in marine biology, so she'll be looking for a job in that field."

"I'm going for a master's degree in astrophysics. I already have a bachelor's degree in both astronomy and health physics, as well as a minor in General Sciences." Tam counted them on his fingers. "I'll be in Canterbury, England at the University of Kent."

The door slammed open and Marella came running in. She was wearing human clothes; a simple tee with Stitch on it drinking from a coconut and the word 'Chill' in curvy letters about his head paired with jeans and grey tennis shoes."I am so, so sorry! I'm just so late! I was working on submitting my application for that college in Canada and got distracted."

"It's fine, 'Rell. We were explaining to Ro what the contingency plan is and making sure we're all on the same page." Fitz assured. "I'm going for Naval Engineering at the Stevens Institution of Technology, which is in New Jersey. You?"

She plopped into the last empty seat. "Hopefully a major in seismology with a minor of chemistry. I'm hoping for a job in pyrotechnics if this takes longer than we thought. Biana, did you ever decide on one?"

"Yup. Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. I was accepted for this upcoming school year."

"I'm just gonna pretend that everything you said made sense," Ro stated, glancing between all of them.

All of them laughed. It took them a while to calm down and explain to Ro how the human education system works and show her where they were going on a map. They fell into silence after that, each contemplating the information they had received.

Keefe stood, pulling a clear pathfinder from his pocket. "You guys are coming to Grady and Edaline's party tonight, right?"

"They're still doing it this year?" Tam voiced his confusion. "I thought they might be cancelling it, with Sophie's planting being today and all."

Fitz shook his head. "She made them promise that if she died, they wouldn't let themselves fall so far like they did with Jolie. So they're going through with the party in honour of Sophie."

The blond man nodded. "Okay." He helped Linh to her feet, murmuring to her, "I'll get Maria." before leaving.

Everyone else at the table stood as well. Tam grasped Fitz's wrist in a traditional Adealan greeting. "See you tonight."

Fitz grasped his wrist back, then they both let go. "Of course. Are you going back to Shadowvale?"

"Yup, I need to change. Then I'll be there. I feel obligated to wear green since I couldn't make it to Sophie's planting."

"Did you finish synthesising the antidote to that poison? Destiny mentioned I might need it."

Tam's brow furrowed. "Yeah, but it's not stable enough to transport yet. I'll get some to you when I can."

"Thank you."

Tam nodded fished out a green crystal before leaving through the larger set of doors. Marella and Ro went with him.

Keefe reentered with Maria at his side and the rest of the children, plus Sandor, behind him. The quints and Jolie went straight to Fitz. Maya and Prentice stood by their mother.

"See you tonight, Fitz, Biana." Keefe nodded to each of them, taking his wife and daughter's hands, and left.

"Jolie, take your sisters home. I need to talk to your aunt. Actually, Maya, Prentice could you go with them and take them to Havenfield after Jolie's changed if she wants to?"

The twins glanced at their mother, who nodded affirmation, then ushered their cousins outside.

"Is everything alright, Brother?"

"I'm worried about what Destiny saw. It's not the first time she's seen that. It happens at the same time on the same day every year. The month changes, but that's it. But the details have always been fuzzy to her. The most she's ever been able to say is that a shapeless thing killed a man, he dropped something and that a woman with red hair was dragged away."

Biana sighed. "There's not much we can do without knowing who they are. She said the girl was a Flasher and the man wore elvin clothes, so they're probably elves. The woman had dark eyes, so maybe they're Sophie's genetic parents. But that's all we know. We can do more with it tomorrow. Right now, we have a party."

Fitz grinned. "Yes we do!" He linked arms with his sister and led her outside, leaping away for Havenfield.

Destiny's head shot up, teal eyes wide. "No. No, no, no."

The other quintuplets turned to her.

"There will be a death tonight."

**If you want to know exactly how Destiny sounds when she chants that verse, search ****All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter ~ Seek For The Sword That Was Broken - Clamavi De Profundis**** on YouTube and go to the timestamp 3:48**


	6. Remembrance and Pain

**There's a slight bit of flirting between a married couple in this chapter.**

There was a strange haziness around her mind. She couldn't see. She couldn't speak. Almost every inch of her body throbbed with pain.

Something nudged her mind and a rush of memories came flooding back.

_The fire._

_The flames around her._

_Her son._

_Trapped._

_A sudden impact in her side and all-encompassing darkness._

More memories, farther back.

_Teal eyes sparkling so much they looked like they were glowing with dark hair falling across them._

_A small blonde girl falling to the ground, shaking and chanting in a voice that was not her own._

_A tiny brown-haired baby boy, surrounded by flames and laughing._

_Sapphire eyes staring her down and a powerful voice tell her to prove such abominations as her children belonged in the elvin world._

_Her anger at the statement and an almost uncontrollable urge to make him kneel in horrible pain._

_The soft, familiar voice filling her voice and calming her._

_Sophie._

_Sophie_.

Sophie.

That was her name.

Something nudged her mind again and she tried to open her eyes, panicking when she couldn't move anything but her thoughts.

A snake-like voice slithered through whatever was covering her ears. "Finally. I thought you might never join us. The famous moonlark."

Moonlark.

_Moonlark._

_A pin wrought in silver and black._

_Two strands of DNA and a silver cube flashing green._

_A curved swan's neck around a monocle._

_A red banner with a diving moonlark on it, bearing a sword in its beak. _

"The great Sophie Vacker." the now male-sounding voice sneered.

_Vacker._

_Bright teal eyes and dark hair._

_Soft arms encircling her._

_The scent of ink and sweat and soap in his hair._

_A glittering ring of gold and rubies._

_Fitz._

_Her love._

"I know you don't remember any of that. You don't even remember your own name."

_Yes I do. I am Sophie Elizabeth Vacker._

"Washing the mind of such a damaged body is just so easy." He laughed. "I'll return your memories of course. In time to let you watch their blood run down your hands from your knife in their hearts. Now if only I could find your slippery little mind. Adealan tricks or no, you can't hide forever little bird. No one can hide forever."

_But I can._

"Don't bother trying to reach out, if you even realize you can. These walls are lined with cecheynese. It's a metal that cancels telepathic calls trying to go through it." The strange man scoffed. "Vespera said I shouldn't give you so much information. But my methods have never failed. Not with Alvar. Not with Brant. And not with you. It will be fun to see how the Neverseen will have me use my latest puppet."

_Neverseen._

_A great white eye._

_Kenric's death._

_Shadowflux destroying her hand._

_Cloyingly sweet scents that brought sleep._

_Everblaze._

_Gorgodons._

_Nightfall._

_Her human parents._

_Pain. So much pain._

"Even if you are awake, you won't remember this conversation, except for what I want you to remember. But when you truly wake, we will see what the great Moonlark can do."

Muffled footsteps and the clang of a door and lock falling into place, leaving her alone to rediscover herself.

There was a crucial piece of information floating around her rediscovered memories. She managed to pin it down and force it into the shape it should be.

_The Black Swan._

Yes. She remembered now. Staying in Alleuvetere. Waiting for Fitz to wake up after the failed Exile prison break. Mr. Forkle and his twin. Swearing fealty. Granite. Squall. Blur. Wraith. Physic.

Individual memories began to replay in front of her vision as she began to find all the right triggers.

_She had just emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her and hair wet from her shower._

"_Hello, dearest." a silky voice purred behind her. Muscular arms wrapped around her and pulled her against her husband's chest. She sighed, leaning back against him. "Hey. Do you happen to know where my hairbrush went?"_

"_Maybe. I can tell you where it is now."_

She knew that voice. That voice belonged to Fitz. More memories of him flooded back and she couldn't believe she'd forgotten her own husband's voice.

"_Did you hide it from me?"_

_He chuckled. "No, I think you hid it from yourself."_

_She turned in his arms. "Where is it? I need my hairbrush."_

"_I'll tell you where it is if you let me shower with you."_

_She sighed. "Because last time we did that, I had quintuplets. Sorry."_

She remembered where her hairbrush had been. In the drawer that it was supposed to be in and she never put it.

"_Stay in that exact place and do not move, no matter what happens."_

_She could not remember the speaker's face, but she trusted her._

"_Biana, sit across from her, three feet and five inches away. Follow the same rules. Do not break eye contact for any reason. Understand?"_

_They both knew this trick and didn't answer or move._

"_Good."_

_Fire and shadows began to swirl around them. She fought the urge to squeeze her eyes shut against the nightmares._

"_Fifteen minutes minimum. Anything after that will be counted as extra and to your credit."_

_A deep voice with an underlying playfulness pulled her away from the flames. "Fifteen minutes?! They can't handle fifteen minutes!"_

Keefe Sencen. She knew Keefe. He was a friend, a brother. He'd also never told her what the Great Gulon Incident was.

"_Unless you wish to be down there with them, I suggest you allow me to continue. I would never push a child to a standard I did not know they could attain. If I did not believe that Sophie Ruewen could not stand fifteen minutes without moving or breaking eye contact, I would have said twelve or ten."_

"_But what if she can't and has a panic attack?"_

_The strange woman's voice sharpened slightly. "Then I can stop the flames and calm her down. This is an exercise in discipline and the ability to repel such things. It is better she breaks down here than on the battlefield, which could cost her her life."_

_Keefe didn't reply._

_Fifteen minutes of tuning out the flames and shadows that swirled around her, sometimes closer sometimes farther. Once or twice it went between them, but Sophie did not move, knowing that when the flames retreated, she would need to still maintain eye contact._

She remembered that both of them had made it to twenty minutes. Their Mentor-

Wait. She knew the word Mentor.

Foxfire. The quintessence. That one time she got detention. The splotching match. Being terrified she wouldn't pass.

But the woman who taught them hadn't referred to herself as their Mentor. She said she was there to train them in the art of war.

_All eight of them, plus this mysterious woman, seated around a fire._

"_This question I am going to ask you is the most important question you could ever ask yourself if you want to continue with me. Picture the person you hate the most. Someone you absolutely cannot stand and think is a waste of perfectly good oxygen. Picture yourself holding a knife to their throat. They have no way of escaping. Would you take their life? Not could, would. In that situation would you be willing to take a life?"_

_They were silent, contemplating their answer._

"_No." A feminine voice spoke up. Linh shook her head. "I wouldn't."_

_The rest of them slowly nodded their agreement._

"_Picture that situation again. Think about all the bad things that could happen if you don't. Now, knowing this, would you be capable of taking their life? Not willing, capable."_

_The general consensus was 'I don't know.'_

_The Sophie found herself whispering "Yes."_

_There was silence. "That is the answer I wanted to hear. A warrior does not relish in taking a life, but they can in order to protect those they love."_

The door banged open and then slammed shut. The same slimy voice hissed, "Time to wake up, little birdie."

A probe began striking her mind over and over, trying to elicit a response. She grew tired of it and struck back.

Cloth began to fall away from her face. Her eyes were crusty and didn't want to open, but she forced them and regretted it.

Blinding light shone in her eyes, making her flinch, but she could see.

"There you are." She couldn't turn her head to see the speaker, but she could hear him better. "I'm surprised you can still see. Most of your skin is still regrowing. Even elvin medicine can't fix everything."

Her mouth and tongue barely functioned, but she ground out, "Who are you?"

"That is not important. What is important is who you are. I rescued you from a horrible fire. You suffered severe head trauma and probably don't even remember your own name."

_Yes I do. But I can play a little actress._ "No, I don't."

"I'm not surprised. Your name is Caeda Faphine. You have no living family. You never married and have no children. I was a friend of your grandfather's. I was travelling and saw your house burning. I went to see if anyone was inside and rescued you. I wasn't able to save your house, not that there was much to save. You seem to have been very poor."

She didn't reply, soaking in the information and the persona he wanted her to become.

"We've been looking for you for a long time, Miss Caeda. You are a very powerful person. With proper training, you could become a great asset to our order."

"Your order?"

"Yes."

"What would I do?"

"Help us right the world." More cloth fell away from her body and she resisted the urge to cover herself. "Don't worry about modesty, you're wearing clothes over all those bandages. Your burns have healed, so we are removing the bandages."

She suddenly found she could move again and unseen hands helped her sit up. When she looked down, she was shocked to find her body fairly close to what it had been. But there were burn scars lacing up her arms and legs.

"I think Vespera will be pleased with how well you've healed."

_Vespera._

Her mind was flooded with horrid memories. She shoved them back and hoped he hadn't noticed.

She managed to choke out. "Who is Vespera?"

"Our glorious leader. Follow me, Miss Caeda."

She obeyed, legs shaky from lying unconscious for so long.

There was a sharp pain on the back of her neck and she collapsed, paralyzed.

"She remembers everything. It didn't work."

"So what now?" She recognized this voice as belonging to Ruy.

"Have Vespera contact her brother. It's time we cut the head off the snake."

**Reviewers get hugs and a tidbit from the next chapter!**


	7. Betrayal of One Called Friend

**These next two chapters have been such a pain to get out. It's been a huge struggle to get the story to go the way I want it to while keeping you guys happy. So if you're not happy with this one, sorry. I'm not altering the plot more than I already have. I am also changing my upload schedule because of how difficult the characters are being. Just slightly, it's still going to be fairly often.**

There was a sharp knock on the door. Fitz jumped. "Who is it?"

"Biana. They finished that replacement leaping crystal. Now we can figure out where it goes."

"Give me a minute. I need to change my shirt." Fitz wiped the sweat off his forehead and stripped off his damp, bloodstained shirt.

"Okay."

He sighed, ducking into the bathroom and splashing water on his face and torso. Sparring with Grizel just wasn't the same as sparring with Sophie. He would try some fancy move, then remember the goblin wasn't as fast as Sophie and try to keep his sword from hitting her. It almost always left his side and stomach exposed.

Fitz dug in the bathroom drawer for the healing cream. He applied some to the cuts on his side and shoved it back into the drawer.

"You done yet?" Biana called.

"Almost." He shrugged into a clean shirt and opened the door. "Do you have any more information about where this goes?"

She held up the blue crystal. "Well it goes to the Forbidden Cities, I can tell you that much. I have no idea where, but somewhere in the Forbidden Cities."

"You don't think it goes to the address Sophie gave us?"

"Maybe."

Fitz followed his sister outside, where Keefe, Linh and Tam met them. All of them were wearing human-style clothes, as Fitz now realized Biana was as well. The ladies had opted for flowy light dresses and ballet flats, while Keefe and Tam were sporting a simple t-shirt and jeans with tennis shoes. It all seemed a bit too summery for the frozen winds that were constantly whipping around Cliffside.

"I feel like I should change."

"Nah, man, you're fine."

He glanced around, realizing they were missing someone. "Where's Marella? Is she not coming?"

Four grim faces looked back at him and Biana said, "She didn't answer her Imparter or a telepathic call. Either she's asleep or something happened. I called her cell and it gave me her vacation message, so I'm assuming she's getting settled into uni."

Fitz nodded. "Tam, did she say if she needed anything?"

The brunette shook his head. "She hasn't said anything to me about moving.

All of them linked hands, exchanging glances. The beam of light the crystal cast looked perfectly normal, and it probably was. But his mind had assigned the crystal utmost importance and tricked him into thinking the leap would somehow be different.

There was a click behind them and Fitz felt the muzzle of melder against his back. "None of you are going anywhere."

His mind told him he should recognize the voice, but something cold touched his neck and the world started to become cold and dark.

There was a feminine scream and something tugged him over the edge.

Then the world was dark and he was floating in nothing.

Biana pulled scales along her arms, allowing her fingers to meld into claws. She slid back into a fighting stance, wings sprung and covering her flanks.

Then she recognized her opponent.

Councillor Emery lost his grip on Fitz's neck as Linh pulled Tam, Keefe, and Fitz over the edge to the ocean with her.

_I'll have time to wonder later._ "What did you do to my brother?"

"It's amazing what a little soporodine will do for cooperation. He'll be fine, of course. But if you want him to wake up, you'll have to give him over to us."

"Fat chance of that." The scales on her face clicked into place, slammed flat against one another. "Now tell me what the heck you think you're doing or I will kill you where you stand."

He chuckled, voice growing deeper and slightly roughing. "You wouldn't really want to dirty your little hands with my blood, now would you?"

"My husband almost singlehandedly ended the Neverseen to the point where it will take them centuries to recuperate. Is that why you're so mad? That we couldn't end them entirely?"

His hands snapped out and bands of engraved silver snapped around her wrists. Her scales and claws melted into skin, and every time she attempted to change them back, the energy collected behind the bands and burned her badly. She growled in pain, attempting to lash at him with fangs and fire bared. Hands hauled her backwards and clapped a cuff around her neck, cutting off her fire. Her wings and scales melted away and she slumped against her second assailant, powerless.

Biana glared up at Emery and spat in his face. "What do you want with me?"

"I'd love to kill you, but my dear sister has asked me not to. She said she has a special instrument to orchestrate your destruction." He reached into his pocket and removed a small bottle. He unscrewed the cap and pressed the edge against her neck. Something slimy and cold leaked out onto her skin. The world started to go black and cold. "Time to sleep, you little b-"

She was unconscious before he could finish his sentence.

**Review for a tidbit from next week's chapter!**


	8. Blind Flame

**Sooo...things are about to get mixed up. Sorry not sorry. (mini rant warning) WRITING A BLIND CHARACTER IS SO HARD! ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE THERMAL VISION INSTEAD OF NORMAL VISION.**

Ry stood beside Ro, gripping her hand. He knew there were a lot of ogres around him and the ground under his feet was different than normal. There were lots of footsteps coming toward him. At least four people. He couldn't see them. He could see that he was surrounded by large blotches of heat that were probably ogres.

"What's going on?"

"The Council's here." Ro leaned down and whispered in his ear.

"Where?"

She picked him up, gently turning his head to face where they were. "Over there. They want us to give you over to them."

Now that he was facing their direction and up high enough, he could make out two or three heat blobs all together. It seemed like there was something big and really, really hot, but it wasn't right. He would be able to hear something that big. It was like a wall of fire with a few people on either side.

He leaned his head against Ro's shoulder, soothing his eyes with the same level of heat all through his vision.

Ry saw one of the heat blobs move toward a lot of heat bunched together. "How many Councillors are there?"

"Twelve." Ro shifted him in her arms. "I have to set you down now."

His feet hit the ground and he wobbled slightly, keeping his grip on his hand. He sort of recognized the voice that spoke.

"King Dimitar."

"Councillors."

"We are willing to negotiate a deal."

Ry recognized the gravelly chuckle that belonged to the ogre king. "A deal for what? I signed your treaties. I followed your regulations."

"And then you kidnap a child." Oh, this was probably Councillor Emery.

Dimitar let out a huge belly laugh. From the sound, Ry guessed he was somewhere in from of him and not too far away. "You think I would kidnap an elvin child? What use would I have for a child? Your species is weak in the art of war." His voice became serious again. "You have no proof."

The Councillor spoke again. "I can see him standing there behind you. Return him to us and name your price."

There was a heavy thud.

"What was that?" Ry whispered to Ro.

"My father took his sword out of its sheath and rested the tip on the ground," she answered.

He shivered. "It was loud."

Then ogre king spoke again. He sounded angry. "If you want the boy, come and get him. ANd you'll have to fight all of Ravagog to do it. I made a promise that I don't intend to break."

Ry looked in the direction of the council again. The huge radiating mound of heat flared and he winced, covering his eyes. The Councillor was also angry when he spoke. "His mother acted without permission of the law. Any treaties or pacts she made are invalid. Now hand the boy over."

Ro lifted Ry into her arms again, whispering, "Time to go."

He heard the thud of many marching feet as the ogre princess carried him away from the confrontation. He could barely understand the parting sallies, but he knew that the ogre king said, "I don't hold my promise to a political ally. I hold my promise to a friend."

Ry buried his face in Ro's shoulder and murmured, "Why are they so scary? Are they going to take me away?"

"No, of course not, kid. You're gonna stay here until your dad comes back to get you. Okay?"

"Okay."


	9. The Mini-Moonlark

"_I'm so sorry, baby girl."_

"Jolie, please concentrate on the lesson! I asked you a question."

"Sorry, Mrs White."

"Don't make me tell you again. Now, how many places from the decimal point is the hundredths place?"

"Two."

Her teacher opened her mouth to correct her, assuming the answer would be wrong, then realized she'd gotten it right. "Very good, Jolie. Everyone, please turn to page 5 and complete problems 1 through 4. And don't forget to show your work."

So far, human school sucked. She flipped to the page and glanced at the problems.

Could they get easier? 378, 967, 451 and 718.

She wrote down all the answers, making herself show her work and not finish the other problems.

"_I'm so sorry, baby girl."_

Her sigh ruffled the edges of her paper. Every time she tried to dig deeper in her memory than last week, that voice saying that sentence was all she found. She had a basic understanding of everything she could do and how to hide it, but faces, names, her parents, everything was gone as if it had never existed.

All she really wanted was to know who was apologizing to her, and why.

The bell rang, making about half of the other students groan. Jolie stood and handed in her work. She slipped the rest of her things into her backpack and turned to leave.

"Jolie, I need you to stay after school."

Rats.

"Yes, Mrs White." She set her backpack down again and sat down. Some of her classmates shot her glances and whispered about what she could've done as they left. She heard every word clearly.

When the classroom was empty, her teacher stood. "I'm going to go call your aunt and have her come in. I need you to go down to the principal's office."

"Yes, ma'am." Jolie picked up her backpack again and stood, following her teacher out of the room. "Am I in trouble, ma'am?"

"No. Just go down to the office and we'll discuss it when your aunt gets here."

You mean all the adults will discuss it and I'll sit there so you can say that I had a say in it. Okay.

Jolie opened the door to the principal's secretary's office and sat down. The secretary, a young woman with heavily treated blonde curls and noticeable makeup, smiled at her when she came in.

The woman smiled and waved. Jolie gave her a small smile.

Boy, was she certain she'd slipped up. She fiddled with the silver bracelets on her wrists. Her Guarders weren't loose and she'd remembered her necklace. Had she been acting too smart and let on she wasn't quite normal? She'd been doing her best to imitate the average intelligence of her classmates. Was she speaking in the Enlightened Language or some other without realizing it?

Mrs White was a sweet old lady. She wouldn't get Jolie in trouble over a slip-up. Right? As far as she knew, her grades were good, but not noteworthy. She was very quiet and respectful in all her classes. It couldn't be her behaviour at recess, she really just sat in a corner and read or did homework. She was just the quiet new girl who nobody talked to and that was fine.

She was so lost in thought she didn't realize the secretary had asked her a question and has to ask her to repeat it.

"I said I haven't seen you in here before. What happened?"

_I must have slipped up and shown I'm not human._ "I don't know. My teacher told me to stay after school and that she's calling my aunt."

"Why your aunt? Why not your parents?"

Jolie tensed at the question. It seemed a bit personal to be coming from the school secretary. She chose her words carefully, looking down as she whispered, "My parents died in a car crash when I was a baby. My Aunt Natalie is my legal guardian."

"Oh. Do you not have any other family?"

Okay, this was getting a little personal, but humans probably thought this was fine. "I have many relatives on my dad's side of the family, but they live in Eastern Europe and they didn't want to upset my life so much by having me move there."

"Oh."

She was struggling to remember the story they had concocted in case somebody asked questions. _Please just be quiet._

A small pinprick of heat poked her in the neck and she slammed down on her mind, shutting down her elvin abilities. The pain slowly went away and she was again eternally glad her uncle had made these before he died. She knew the elvin world was looking for her. Well, those that knew she existed. If she was found…the grownups wouldn't tell her what would happen if she was found. Just that it was bad.

The door opened and Mrs White came in, saying, "The principal's office is through here, Ms Freeman.

"Miss Freeman." her aunt corrected as she entered. "I'm not married."

Her teacher nodded.

Jolie followed them into the principal's office and sat down next to her aunt.

The principal put away his paperwork and folded his hands on his desk. "Miss Freeman, We have asked you here to discuss your niece's behaviour."

Rats.

Her aunt frowned. "Jolie has always been an extremely easy child. Every babysitter I've ever had and every person who's ever met her describes her as an absolute angel. Pardon me if I'm wrong, but I'm very confused."

Jolie stared at the floor swinging her legs. Her teacher sighed. "She is. She's a very good student, she has good grades and she has never caused trouble of any kind."

"Then what's the problem?"

The principal leaned forward and put his elbows on his desk. "We think she has ADHD and possibly mild autism."

Jolie looked up at her aunt. Nat gently took her niece's hand and stared the principal down with her best interrogation glare. "Care to explain your reasoning?"

Mrs White sat up straighter. "She has been distracted in class with me having to remind her to pay attention multiple times a session. She can be extremely restless even when she is provided with an outlet for her energy. She has formed no friendships at all and avoids the other children as much as possible. She only eats lunch if it is brought from home and refuses to eat anything else. We think she shows clear signs of possible autism or ADHD."

Jolie sniffled and squeezed her aunt's hand. A voice was screaming in her head _I can explain all of this!_ but she couldn't say a thing.

Her aunt stood, pulling Jolie up with her. "I can say with all certainty that Jolie does not have ADHD or autism. I have no idea how you came to that conclusion. How is she supposed to form friendships in a week? She's restless and distracted because instead of following their own policy, CPS put her straight into foster care and didn't contact me about her for three years. If she chooses to not eat cafeteria food, maybe you should consider the food you're trying to feed the students. So, if you're going to try to stick more labels on her, I will be removing her from this school."

Mrs White and the principal were silent. Natalie led her niece outside to her car and slumped over the steering wheel. "I'm so sorry about all this, babycakes. This school just isn't working out. If you want to change schools, we can do that."

Jolie sighed. "I kind of just want to leave this all behind and move away."

"We can do that too. Your mom made sure I would always be financially stable, so we can go wherever you want. We can go all around the world if you want."

"I'd rather just go somewhere else in San Diego. Like, out of this school district. That's all. Maybe learn a musical instrument or try out for a sport or something like that."

"We can do that. What do you want to try? I'll start looking for a music teacher for you on the other side of the city. Would you rather live in an apartment or buy a house?"

Jolie shrugged. "An apartment maybe? I've never lived in an apartment."

"Okay. I'll start looking for an apartment. How about we rent a movie and go get ice cream and pizza?" Natalie pulled out of the school parking lot, turning out onto the road.

She grinned, dark braids falling over her shoulder. "Only if we get chocolate mashmallow."

"Marshmallow, Jojo."

"Right. Marshmallow." She repeated, emphasizing the r. "Can we get How To Train Your Dragon 2? Please?"

Her aunt laughed, pulling to a Walmart parking lot. "Sure. I'll rent the movie and you go get two pints of ice cream."

"I get a _whole pint_ all to _myself_?"

"Yup. Get me a pint of green tea ice cream and one of whatever you want, okay? But you can't have any of the ones that say spirits okay? They don't have enough alcohol to do anything, but I still don't want you to have them. Meet me in front of the self-checkout when you're done."

"Okay." Jolie dumped her backpack on the seat next to her and slid out of the car. She grabbed her aunt's hand, smiling. "You know, I like the human world much better than the elvin world. Everybody's so nice and nobody cares a lick that my eyes are brown. It's nice. And there's ice cream and mashmallows."

"I'm glad you think that." Natalie dropped her niece's hand and scrolled through the movies on the Redbox. "You go get ice cream, I'll handle pizza."

"Okay Aunt Natalie." She skipped to the ice cream aisle, braids bouncing. An older gentleman had to help her reach the ice cream she wanted so she wouldn't knock over the whole shelf. There was a lady with really pale skin and dark hair staring at her as she left the aisle, but she forgot about it as she grinned at the pint of strawberry ice cream, that she got _all to herself_.

She walked up to her aunt at the self-checkout and handed her the ice cream. "A nice old man helped me get it down."

"Oh, that was sweet of him." Natalie tucked a curl back into her ponytail. "So, I got cheese pizza and I got marina pizza, which has chunks of tomato and cheese and herbs on it."

"Ooh, yummy."

She watched her pay and took her hand as they walked out of the store, treasures on hand. "Aunty, did my mommy ever tell you about any scary ladies that came after her?"

"Did you see someone you're worried about?"

"Just somebody staring at me while I was getting ice cream. She had dark hair and pale skin. She looked like a vampire. Kind of like Mavis, you know, from Hotel Transylvania, but super duper mean."

She could have imagined it, but her aunt gripped Jolie's hand a little tighter. "I don't think you have to worry about her.

"Okay."

Jolie sniffled, watching the onscreen characters raise their bows and fire flaming arrows into Stoick's pyre. "Wow."

"You okay, babycakes?"

"It's weird, seeing death. I know he's gone, just like Mommy's gone, but it's like this little nagging hope that maybe they're not really gone."

"Hey." Natalie pulled her niece onto her lap. "I know it's hard, and it's probably extra hard for you guys. I can't imagine how it feels to deal with the death of your mom, and the only person who understands your struggle, her being who she was. And it's probably really hard to try to be strong and put on a mask to protect yourself. I can tell it's really hard for your dad."

"You talk to my daddy?"

"Not as much as I should. He hasn't called in a while. But I can tell it's wearing on him. He's trying to stay strong and focused on whatever he's working on." She ran her fingers through Jolie's hair. "It's like he thinks it'll solve everything. But I can bet you he cries himself to sleep at night, just like you do. He's just had more practice being strong."

She snuggled into her aunt. "I'm glad he could though. It really helped, from what I can remember."

They stayed silent for a few minutes, watching the movie.

"Aunt Natalie, why was my mind wiped and not yours?"

A sigh ruffled her hair. "I don't know, Jolie. I don't know."


	10. Forkle Times Five

**SO...I got challenged to do NaNoWriMo by a friend. I'm currently 5000 words behind. This is probably the only chapter I'll be able to publish until December. I sowwy. But there isn't much I can do.**

_Dear_ _Aunt Ro,_

_Guess what? We turn eight today! We're one year closer to Foxfire._

_We're all one person now. Like Mr Forkle. But there are five of us. It's weird. Mommy and the Black Swan did something to our registry files and now we're all the same person, Faye Ruewen._

_Grammy Eda told us to write you this letter so we can practice writing in ogre. How are we doing so far?_

_Dessy's handwriting is horrible._

_It is not!_

_We miss Mommy and Daddy. But Grammy Eda makes treats cause she's sad and we get to eat them. They're really yummy._

_We're only sorta kinda like Mr Forkle. We only have one identity. And only one of us can go anywhere at one time._

_We don't actually know if the Council will allow Faye Ruewen to attend Foxfire. The Black Swan did their best to cover their tracks, but something's not right about the Council. We're not sure what._

_Ry said that one of them is big and scary and hot! Like a wall of fire._

_Anyway, we're all doing well. Dessy hasn't had any more episodes, so that means that either everything's okay or everything's bad._

_Can you say hi to Ry for us?_

_Faye Ruewen_

_(that's us.)_

_Yeah she knows._

One of the quints slipped the letter into a slim metal tube and handed it to Edaline. "We're done, Grammy Eda."

She took the letter, sighing. "Okay. I'll send it." She snapped her fingers, sending the letter to their prearranged collection point. "I'm going to Atlantis to do some shopping in about fifteen minutes. Whoever's turn it is needs to get ready to go."

The five of them collectively turned to the calendar behind them. "It's Faith's turn."

One of the quints ran upstairs and returned with her shoes in hand. The other four followed her and didn't come back down.

Faith grasped her grandmother's hand and walked outside with her. "Can we get candy?"

"Not this time, Faye."

They leapt to the rocky beach and Faith pranced along the pebbles, grinning. Edaline didn't have the heart to stop her.

"Where are we going?"

"We need to stop by the jeweller's and I'm meeting Oralie for lunch."

"Is she gonna tell us what happened?"

Edaline sighed and opened the bottle. "I don't know. Now, do you want to jump first or will I?"

Faith pouted. "I'm going."

"Remember Faye, in public you need to refer to me as your mother, not your grandmother."

"I know." She bounced forward and jumped into the whirlpool. She squealed as she rode the waterspout down, laughing when she stumbled onto the sponge and slid off. Edaline landed next to her a few seconds later.

"Stay with me, Faye."

Faith fake-pouted and took her grandmother's hand.

Atlantis was oddly calm. There were fewer boats on the canals and the general bustle of the city had dimmed.

"It's so quiet." the young girl commented, pulling her hair over her shoulder.

Edaline nodded. "I don't like it. I'm going to leave you with Oralie while I do my shopping. I don't want you wandering around with me."

"Okay, Mom." The word felt wrong in her mouth, staring into blue eyes instead of dark ones.

Her grandmother hailed a eurypterid carriage and told the driver to take them to the far side of the city. When they got out, the streets were nearly deserted and everything looked more modest. "Oralie lives here? I thought she lived somewhere more fancy, like the Councillor's towers."

"Now isn't the time to ask questions, Faye. I don't know what's going on either. This is the address she gave me." She pulled Faith over to the door of a house and knocked.

"Edaline? Is that you?"

Faith recognized Councillor Oralie's muffled voice, but she had never sounded this panicky.

"Yes, it's me, Oralie. Is it okay if Faith stays with you while I do my shopping?"

"Actually," The young woman opened the door a crack. "Shopping may not be the best idea right now." She looked far more haggard than elves usually looked. Her usually bouncy curls hung limp and she looked jumpy. "Come inside."

Edaline pulled Faith inside and Oralie closed the door. The inside of the house was more modest than elves usually live and oddly sparse. Faith said nothing and leaned against her grandmother. She knew the adults would explain everything.

"Oralie, what's going on?"

"I don't know."

Or not.

"I woke up here with a note saying I was no longer welcome as a Councillor. I hailed Bronte and he said the same thing happened to him. Neither of us have access to our birth funds. I can't leave Atlantis. Bronte can't leave his home, wherever it is, he won't say. There's some strange person leaving notes that say if we want our normal lives back, we would follow their demands. I checked the handwriting and it doesn't match anyone we know to be affiliated with the Neverseen, currently or otherwise. We're not sure what we want to do, or what we should do. I thought I should tell you what's going on, and warn you. Stay away from Atlantis. Don't come back unless I hail you and say it's okay."

Faith decided that the adults probably didn't want her input and questions, so she waited for them to be done.

Edaline nodded. "We should probably leave then. Do you want me to hail you with updates on the search or are you keeping your head down?"

"No. Don't hail me unless I contact you and say it's safe. Has Faye been registered for any sort of outside schooling?"

"No. Elwin and Sir Astin have been teaching them, and Grady and I are doing our best to give them a full education. We didn't want to risk putting th-her, sorry, bit of a cold." Edaline coughed into her elbow. "We didn't want to risk putting her in outside schooling if there is someone targeting our family. Grady and I decided we will put her in Foxfire when she is old enough. For now, we think the education she is getting at home between Grady and myself, plus Elwin and Sir Austin will suffice until she is older."

Oralie nodded. "Maybe things will change in three years, maybe they won't. But you should leave now. I don't want them to notice you're here. I don't know if they're watching me."

Faith followed her grandmother out, glancing back as the door was closed. "Are we still going shopping?"

"No. We are going straight home. I need to discuss this with Juline."

"Ohhh, are you gonna contact the Black Swa-"

Edaline cut her off before she could finish, scolding through clenched teeth, "Don't _ever_ say that in public. You could get in big trouble."

"Sorry, Mommy." Faith stayed silent through exiting Atlantis and the light leap home.

As soon as they touch down on friendly soil, her grandmother relaxed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, sweetheart. There are bad people out there who are trying to kill you."

"Are they the people that killed Mommy and Uncle Dex, and made everbody else disappear?"

Edaline nodded. "You go up to your room and update your sisters. We might have some surprise visitors today, so I need you to stay upstairs and stay quiet. I don't have the right elixirs to disguise them, so I need all of you to not be seen, okay?"

"Yes, Grandma." Faith trotted into the house and up to the third floor. She'd been told it used to be one big room, but now it was four rooms, a bedroom, a bathroom, a large playroom, and a fake bedroom, in case anybody came snooping.

The other four quintuplets were all sitting cross-legged in a circle, playing some human board game. Faith sat down in between Lucky and Destiny and they scooted to make room for her. "What are you guys playing?"

Destiny drew a card and moved a red piece forward. "We wanted mindless entertainment. We finished our homework and fed a bunch of the animals, but you still weren't home, so we finally got to play that four-player game Uncle Keefe gave us for our birthday two years ago."

"Cool. What's it called?"

Fortune grinned and knocked a green piece over and set her blue piece in its place. "Sorry!"

"For what?"

"Nothing, Faith. That's the name of the game."

"Oh."

Hope sighed, picking up the blue piece and setting it on a blue circle with the word 'Start' on it, picking up the green piece and setting it upright in the space. "So, what happened?"

"I don't think I'm allowed to talk about it. We're not supposed to be seen for the rest of the day. Grandma and Grandpa are having 'special guests'. They won't tell us who they are, but they're important."

"Do you think it's the Council?" Miracle asked, moving her yellow piece. It landed on the end of an arrow and she whooped. "Yay! Boost!" She slid the piece to the point of the arrow.

Destiny nodded. "They're the only people that spook Grandma and Grandpa that much." She drew a card and laughed. She picked up another red piece a few spaces behind the piece Miracle had just moved and knocked it over. "Sorry!"

Miracle pouted and moved her piece to a red circle labelled 'Start'. "Dessy!"

Destiny laughed. "I have reduced your piece to ashes, Mira! I will rule the game!"

"No, you won't!" Fortune set the card she had face up on the gameboard and moved her green piece into a green circle labelled Home. "That is one, two, three, four pieces. I believe I have won. I am the greatest quint!"

"Nu-uh."

"Yeah right."

"Oh come on Lucky!" Hope pouted. "I was so close."

"No you weren't." Miracle flipped over the next card and pointed to it.

Hope grumbled.

A note appeared in the centre of the gameboard, startling them. It had their grandmother's familiar handwriting scrawled on it.

_Get out. Now. No questions. Down the tunnel and out. You can't use the entrance._

They stood and left the room. There were five identical packs sitting along the wall of their bedroom, ready for this event. They each selected their own and Hope gave the wall three sharp raps, then pressed one finger into the wall. A hidden panel slid open and all five of them climbed down the ladder. Miracle closed the door behind them and it melded perfectly into the wall.

Once they reached the bottom, Destiny stamped a certain pattern on the floor and a dwarven tunnel opened in front of them. Hope leading, they shifted their packs to their fronts and entered the tunnel.

They were walking for several minutes before the tunnel sloped up and they broke the surface. The dwarf that had made the tunnel was long gone and it sealed behind them.

Faith reached for the small cloth pouch tied around her neck. She removed one of the temporary leaping crystals from the bag and handed it to Hope. Her sister lifted it to the light and they leapt away.

They landed in rolling green hills. It was empty for several miles around, except for a stone house in the middle of a large field.

A figure ran down a hill toward them, long amber hair waving in the wind. As the woman grew closer, the quintuplets were able to make out the features of their grandmother/great-aunt Juline. She tripped and tumbled forward, rolling over herself several times before coming to a stop at the foot of the hill. With a smile and bright "Hello!", she stood and dusted herself off.

"You're finally here." She hugged each of them in turn. "Edaline told me you'd be coming sometime soon."

"Are Grammy Eda and Grandpa Grady gonna be okay?" Miracle asked, squeezing Juline tightly before letting go.

She smiled, tying her amber hair back. "Of course. If they were in any danger they would have left too. They have hidden crystals to a Black Swan hideout. If they're in trouble, they can leap away."

Hope nodded. "Okay. Where are we?"

"This is one of the best-kept secrets I've seen in a while. Many of the Black Swan had hidden residences in remote areas of the Forbidden Cities. This one is mine. You'll be staying here until someone comes to get you."

Faith looked around. "Where in the world are we?"

"Ireland. It's a human country in the British Isles. We're actually not far from Luminaria."

"That rhymed."

"So it did."

Destiny smiled. "It's very pretty here. I think we'll enjoy our stay."

**And that's the quints! If anyone wants to see Maria (Keefe's daughter), drop a review! As always, review for hugs and a tidbit from the next chapter.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	11. The Darkest Blade

**I have returned!**

**NaNoWriMo was painful. But it's a wonderful exercise for the brain and your writing habits. If you don't think you can write fifty thousand in a month, then NaNoWriMo Junior lets you choose your own word count. I should have done that.**

Biana woke to find herself chained to a sheer mountain cliff, feet resting on a narrow ledge. There was no one on the mountain with her, but down in the valley below her feet, she could clearly see at least five members of the Neverseen standing in a group next to a large pit on the ground, covered with a chain net. She was too far away to hear anything, but she could see one cloaked figure inside the arena, wielding a whip made of electricity and the roars of a large, frightened creature.

She knew those roars.

Biana channelled the energy she could to her sight and squinted at the arena. There was a large creature inside it, four-legged and scaled. It was wearing a saddle and several restraints that blocked her view. Its eyes were slits and it was cowering against the stone wall, dodging the blows of the whip.

Vespera had caught a wild dragon.

"Oh you poor thing." she murmured. There were cuts and slashes all over, many of them through or under the scales. Biana knew what a dragon saddle should look like and that wasn't it. Thick straps of metal digging in under the forelegs and in the throat. A large muzzle preventing the dragon from breathing fire and otherwise defending itself.

As if sensing her presence, the dragon's head snapped up and terrified golden eyes met hers over the extreme distance. Images of horrid torture and fear pounded her mind in an unmistakable cry for help. She tried to transmit peace and reassurance back, but she was forced to use all of her mental energy in keeping her mind from being destroyed by the sheer force. Eventually, the dragon realized he was hurting her and backed off, but kept up the wordless cry for aid.

This dragon's mind had a familiar feel to it and she thought she recognized the colour of the scales. She transmitted half of an Adealan phrase, hoping beyond hope.

The dragon hesitated, not understanding the words, but they had the desired effect.

Biana watched blue spin through the dragon's irises, briefly turning them to a periwinkle blue.

_Dex._

He was clearly scared and injured and didn't have any elvin intelligence to get him out of the situation, but he was there. That was him.

She sagged in relief again the mountainside, closing her eyes. Dex, apparently not recognizing her, pulled his mind away and lashed out at the Neverseen in the ring with him, throwing him several feet. However, the throw was too weak to do any damage and the black-cloaked figure simply got up and walked out of the ring. A gate swung open and the dragon-Dex darted behind it, cowering out of sight as the gate slammed shut.

She turned her focus inward, testing which abilities she had available. Telekinesis was out, as were the rest of her skills and telepathy. She could Vanish, but that was useless in her current situation. Whatever cuffs she was wearing on her wrists and neck were blocking all of her draconic powers.

This was bad. This was so, so bad. The Neverseen were clearly playing some sort of game with her. Whatever thing they were going to use to orchestrate her destruction, it probably wasn't very powerful yet. A test of whatever Vespera's twisted mind had dreamed up. And it was probably going to kill her.

A wave of dizziness overtook her and she slumped against the rock. A lock of hair fell in her face.

It was platinum blonde.

She looked up, realizing the shade over her was blocking all the sunlight. And a loss of colour in eyes and hair was the first visible sign of ultraviolet deficiency. No wonder her draconic powers weren't working. She didn't have enough fire stored to use them.

This was so very, very bad.

Vespera probably didn't know that a lack of ultraviolet light would eventually kill her. Or that was her plan. Either way, this was bad.

Metal clanked and the chains holding her arms released, falling to the ledge at her side, and she wobbled, almost falling off the cliff. Someone levitated her up to a larger ledge above her. She stumbled when she landed and fell when no one steadied her.

"So this is the great Last Dragonborn."

Biana muttered a few choice words in the speaker's direction.

"I can't wait to be able to study how your abilities work. With luck, I'll be able to copy your genetic code. Now that would be a treat. To finally find out what it is that makes you so special. Especially since our other specimen is _uncooperative_." He hoisted her onto her feet. "I don't understand why your hair and eyes lost their colour, however. I hope I can find that out."

Biana spared him a dark laugh. "The reason for that isn't in my genes boy. You're not going to ever find that out."

He shrugged, the movement muffled by his thick cloak. "We have our ways."

"No, you don't understand. It is a lack of something that caused this. You can't find that in genetics."

"As I said, we have our ways." He turned away and pulled her forward by the chain on her neck, into the sunlight.

Biana felt a terrifying, exhilarating rush of energy as the light fueled her sun-starved body. The colour flooded back into her eyes and hair. "That was a mistake." She lashed out, hoping the chains that held her now didn't have the same properties.

She was right.

Her claws, sharpened to the finest edge, dug deep into the Neverseen's side. He cried out, clutching the wound, and collapsed on the ground.

"That's one of you."

She felt the Everblaze before she saw it. Turned to face Fintan, she inhaled, pulling the Everblaze into her body, fueling her own fire. "That was also a mistake."

Fintan dropped to the ground, inches away from the stream of blue-green fire. "Vespera told me Everblaze would subdue you!"

"Vespera doesn't know much about dragons then. Or she does and wants me to kill you."

He paled, scrambling away. "Please. No!"

Biana stared at him, disdain in her eyes. "Don't worry. I'm not going to. You're pathetic." She spat at his feet and walked away. "If you try Everblaze again, I'm going to remove half of your right lung. If you try it a second time, you can watch me eat it."

She could hear and smell his fear and revulsion. "Y-you wouldn't."

She glanced back, baring her fangs. "Don't tempt me."

Fintan scrambled away and she let him go. Leaning down, she placed her hand against the wound she made in the younger Neverseen's side. She felt the muscle and skin knit itself back together and the blood loss halt. _I may be your enemy, but I'm not a monster._

Not trusting her wings yet, she picked her way down the side of the mountain, away from whatever the Neverseen were doing. It was fairly sheer, for such a rocky mountain range, but it was simple once she caught her bearings. Eventually, she sprung her wings from her back and glided down to the valley below.

"This really is a lovely mountain range. It's a shame it's held by the Neverseen."

"A shame indeed." The voice that answered held liltlings of an elven voice, but the words curled at the edges as a dragon's did. She felt a strong current of energy course through her body, causing extreme pain in its wake. It wasn't a melder blast, those barely tickled her anymore.

Darkness closed in on her vision, but she caught a glimpse of white scales before she passed out. Not a pure, life-giving white, the white of bleached bones and dead eyes.

Then the darkness swallowed everything.

She woke up again in a dark cell, hands cuffed to the wall above her head and a thick band of silver around her neck. Every wall had been sealed airtight, save for the one to her left, or was that right? She couldn't remember.

Again, she felt the weakening in her body that came from a lack of sunlight. She hoped that whatever poor creature was enduring Vespera's tortures was as okay as they could be. Whatever she was doing, Vespera was obviously trying to find out how to give herself or her followers the abilities of a dragon. Well, she was going to be disappointed. Dragon genetics couldn't be copied and given away. They had to come from a dragon.

The door slammed open -yes that was on her right- and black-cloaked figures unchained her hands and dragged her out.

"Take her back to the mountain and leave her there. My endeavours are useless."

* * *

A light permeated the darkness and a soft voice called to him. He groaned, trying to fight the darkness, but it kept dragging him down.

A sharp blade stuck his consciousness and pulled him into the light. It stabbed under his eyelids. Then it dimmed and became a softer light, encouraging him to wake.

"Fitz, can you hear me?" The voice was unclear, but he understood and nodded. As his vision cleared, the black, silver and pale blob sharpened into Linh's face. "There you are."

He couldn't find the strength to talk, so he transmitted, _I think I'm all here. I can hear you, but I don't really feel like talking. Where am I?_

She smiled. "Groningen, in the Netherlands. Keefe is well into his degree in Fine Arts. He's taking all of his hardest classes first. I've got a pretty good job in marine biology. You've been out for about seven months. We contacted the university and told them that because of a surprise family emergency, you couldn't attend. They said they could give you a spot next school year if you wanted it. We enacted the contingency plan while you were under. It's been about six months since then. Jolie and the quints are settled well. Maria is staying with Cassius, but Natasha is staying with us. Tam is settled in at uni and looking for Marella in his spare time."

_Is there any news about Biana?_

"No. We haven't found anything, except that the Neverseen have several allies in the nobility, maybe as many as five high-ranking nobles. All of the Black Swan have gone into hiding. It still surprises me to see the members we didn't know about vanish from the elvin world."

_What happened? I don't remember anything._

"From the attack?"

_Yes._

"You were given soporodine. We contacted the ogres and they gave you the antidote, but you took forever to wake up from it. The Neverseen have an ally on the Council. I didn't see who before I jumped."

_Jumped?_

"Off the cliff and into the ocean I was able to get us several miles away before Keefe leapt all of us to an unknown location, then to here using a temporary crystal. Do you want some water?"

_That would be lovely._

Linh picked up a glass and held it to his lips, tilting his head forward to help him drink. The water tasted strange, but it soothed his throat and allowed him to talk. "Thank you."

She giggled. "Sorry. You sound a bit funny."

Fitz chuckled, then coughed. "I probably do. We don't still have that crystal, do we?

"The one with the angles Sophie gave us?"

"Yeah."

Linh sighed. "No. Biana had it. I assume she crushed it to keep the Neverseen from getting their hands on it."

He sighed, closing his eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah. We don't have any way to really contact Amy either. We have a solid position in the human world, but all our other plans are falling apart at the seams. We've heard rumours that the Neverseen have discovered a universal poison. I heard it grows on a black-barked tree that looks sickly and bears foul-smelling fruit."

"Keyenlaks."

"Hmm?"

"It means deathfruit."

"Oh yeah. You don't think the rumours are true?"

Fitz rubbed his eyes. "It's not whether or not they're true, it's 'do we risk it'. If the Neverseen have access to the only incurable poison, they could kill every inhabitant of any city in the world, Lost Cities or no, with a single gas bomb. It spreads quickly and acts quickly. There's nothing anyone could do."

Linh bit her lip. "Keefe will be home soon. We can discuss it with him. We're also expecting updates from people, so maybe we can knock everything out at once."

"Okay. I'm tired, so I think I'll sleep until he gets here."

"I'll tell Natasha to play quietly while you nap." She squeezed his hand and left.

Fitz stared out the window at the Dutch cityscape and drifted off to sleep, but not without a foreboding feeling.

He woke unwillingly to what sounded like the clash of swords, but it was probably two lids being banged together. Natasha likely hadn't gotten the message to play quietly. Or she had and decided she was done.

The door opened and the banging became much louder and accompanied by yelling.

"UNCLE FIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTZZZZZZZ, IT'S TIME TO GET UUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPP!" _*bang* *bang* *bang*_

He looked over at the small, black-haired child who was indeed banging on a pot with a metal ladle.

"I'm awake, Natasha."

She didn't hear him and began banging the pot and ladle together harder and yelling louder if it was possible.

"Natasha, I'm awake! You can stop now!"

She still didn't hear him.

With a pounding headache growing behind his ears, he resorted to a telepathic message. _NATASHA!_

She finally stopped, looking at him. "Yay!"

He sighed. "I've been awake for a while."

"Why didn't you say so?"

He groaned. "Just please go put those away."

"But I don't wanna! Making noise is fun!"

"_Now_."

Natasha pouted and left. Linh and Keefe entered as their daughter was leaving.

"Sorry about the noise. I told her to go wake you up, but she apparently thought I meant the whole neighbourhood at five a.m."

"Did I sleep all night?"

Keefe nodded. "You looked like you needed it."

"So what information do we have to work with?"

"Let me see." The blond man groped his pockets for something and Linh handed him a list. "Thank, love. I just finished talking to Grady and Edaline. They said they sent the quints to Juline's in Ireland. They are going to the lost High Seas facility, that's the one I flew to with Sophie where she got her abilities fixed. The Black Swan fixed it up and made it livable. Not fancy, but livable. I have yet to hail my father. But I have a feeling I already know what he's going to say. Amy hailed me briefly late last night to say that she and Jolie are moving to an undisclosed location. She told me Jolie saw someone that she described as looking like mavis from Hotel Transylvania, but scary. She's worried Vespera found them."

Fitz turned the information over in his head. "Okay. Any progress on anything?"

Linh shook her head. "No. Biana's still missing. So is Marella. And Tam hasn't hailed me in a while. So we're pretty much just stuck here. We really should have stayed closer together."

Keefe squeezed his wife's hand. "But nobody's called swan song yet. So as far as we know, they're still safe, just taking this hiding thing a little too seriously. We don't have any more information than that."

"I did find out a little more about the possibility of the Neverseen having access to keyenlaks," Linh said. "I was in the Lost Cities for some reason, it slipped my mind what, and I saw a random passerby just collapse in the street. I couldn't do much for fear of being recognized, but I got close enough to see the distended veins all over the exposed skin. There were several physicians there within a matter of seconds and they said that all the blood in his body had clotted and turned black in a matter of seconds No one else was affected and I was right next to him and I'm fine. I couldn't say anything and left quickly, but there is only one toxin that causes black blood."

"The Neverseen have keyenlaks." Fitz closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the pillow. "Just when things couldn't get worse."

Keefe sighed. "How do we deal with this?"

Linh leaned her head on his shoulder, hand on her stomach. "We might just have to wait it out."

**So! We're getting into the serious stuff now! Please review, tell me what you think! No flames please, you're not Pyrokinetics. (I hope.)**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	12. Painted Scars

**Hello there. Well, I think the crazy's over. First, my ****computer**** broke, then I got the flu, then hey look, ****Christmas is in a week and I need to go shopping! But I got a beautiful new laptop with more power and battery, so I should be out of excuses not to write. Anyhow, sorry about the wait and here is the next chapter!**

A bright light needled her eyes and there was a sharp pain in her arm. She groaned, opening her eyes. She was lying down on something again, strapped down this time. The stone brick ceiling above her was dank and mossy and very old.

The pain in her arm withdrew and the bright light moved from right above her face to the side.

"Well that's interesting. Miss Sophie Foster. You're not particularly normal, even for an experiment."

She growled, trying to turn her head against the leather strap holding it in place. "It's Mrs Sophie Vacker."

"Oh, let me change that. Married, are you?"

She clamped her mouth shut and didn't say any more.

"There's no need to be stubborn. I'm a human geneticist. I am as much a prisoner as you are. Though being able to understand your language would be nice. At least I'd be able to know what everyone is talking about."

"There's one small hole in that story. I was speaking the Enlightened Language and you understood me perfectly fine."

The scientist sighed. "It was worth a try. But I have what I needed. You will have the honour of being out first test subject."

She didn't comment.

"I was under the impression you were talkative. Oh well. Vespera wants me to tell you what I'll be injecting you with, so here goes. It is a new poison she's discovered. It grows only in one place, on this awful looking black tree. It's this horrible thin green liquid. One of the ogres got some on their skin and it caused this horrible festering burn. He lost his arm below the elbow and died a day later."

Sophie paled. No. No. They couldn't have.

"We tested it on a different elf earlier, to see if it actually was what we thought it was. The results were extremely satisfactory."

No. It had to be something else.

"I'm told it is called keyenlaks."

Sophie muttered a plethora of curse words in various languages.

"Such a naughty mouth. I'd unstrap your head and let you watch, but that would allow you to inflict on me. I'm not worried about your telepathy though. This entire fortress is lines with cecheynese, which blocks telepathic calls, if the Shadeslayer told the truth."

She was going to ask about this 'Shadeslayer', but a second needle impaled her arm and set an icy cold feeling through the limb.

"That's spreading faster than I thought."

Sophie felt her abilities shut down rapidly as the scientist removed the strap from her forehead and the icy feeling swept through her body and was replaced by pain. Excruciating pain.

She groaned through clenched teeth, body shaking. The veins on her arms were turning black and bulging above the skin. Yet she laughed as she lost feeling in her extremities.

"I do not fear death. Why should I, when I know how to reverse it?"

The Neverseen member paled.

"We will meet again."

Again the darkness swallowed her, this time feeling permanent and solid, the wall between the world of the living and the void.

Fitz felt his balance waver and caught himself on the edge of the counter. The granite edge poked his hand, but her held on anyway until he caught his balance Natasha grabbed his leg to help keep him from falling over and he winced. "That's my bad leg, kiddo."

"Sorry." She let go, twirling al lock of her black hair around one finger. "Daddy's told me about the shadowflux thing. Is it still not healed?"

He smiled, lifting her into his arms. "It is healed, but it's not the same. I'm always going to have problems like that. The soporodine made it worse, but I'm always going to limp just a little, even after fifteen years."

"Okay."

He went to set her down, but she stayed up, giggling. She did not appear to have control, floating aimlessly around the room.

"Did you figure out how to levitate?"

"Maybe."

Fitz sighed, remembering the shenanigans the quints had gotten into when they had learned to levitate.

The apartment Keefe and Linh were renting in the Lost Cities was nice. It was very different from the elven style and much smaller, but it was still nice. The kitchen had a small island next to counters on two sides of it. The living space was a bit cramped, it was sometimes hard to get past the couch, but it had its own charm. Natasha floated over the couch, grabbing onto it to steady herself. She dropped to the ground as soon as Keefe walked in the room.

"Feeling better are we?"

"Leg could be better though. Are you aware that your daughter has learned to levitate?"

Keefe sighed. "Oh joy."

"My thoughts exactly." Fitz leaned against the counter, taking the weight off his bad leg. "Did you talk to your dad yet?"

"I've been putting it off. I'm not exactly excited at the prospect. But I've been doing a little risky snooping, much to Linh's dismay. I have an idea, but that's it. I don't actually know if the Neverseen had any mountain bases. But Bosk Gorge seems like a good place to start."

"So it's somewhere in the Neutral Territories?"

The blond man shook his head. "It's in the Forbidden Cities. But that's the closest crystal I have and it's probably on the other side of the world in the middle of nowhere."

"Well it's something."

"Yup. It's enough to go on. No news about Tam or Marella though. I 'borrowed'" -he put the word in air quotes- "an invisibility potion from Kesler-don't worry I did go back and pay for it-and went walking around that university in England. I didn't see him, but I only got about two hours of searching and he is listed as a student currently attending. I checked on Marella and it appears she never got in to the college she applied for and said she got in to."

"That's news."

"I suppose," Keefe conceded.

"How's Linh been? I haven't seen her lately." Fitz asked, grabbing Natasha by the collar to prevent her from levitating onto the stove and probably on top of the upper cabinets. This was met with grumbles of displeasure.

"She's out on a weekend mission with her team. She'll be back tomorrow."

"Okay." Fitz winced, leaning down to rub his knee.

Keefe gave him a sympathy wince, setting a hand on his arm to make sure he didn't fall over. "If you need to sit down you can."

"No, it's okay, I'm good. It just hurts is all. It's healed as much as it can, but it still hurts."

"If you're sure."

The doorbell rang and Keefe frowned. "Are you expecting someone?"

Fitz shook his head. "Do you want me to check?"

Keefe nodded. Fitz stretch out his mind to be pleasantly surprised.

_Fitz, is that you or am I about to be in big trouble?_

_It's good to see you, Tam._

_Same here. Now are you going to let me in or am I knocking at the wrong apartment?_

Out loud, Fitz said, "It's Tam. Not sure what he's doing here, but he's here."

Keefe walked over to the door and opened it. "Hey! We've been wondering where you were!"

They exchanged greetings and Tam closed the door behind himself. "Hey. Not a bad place. Is Linh here?"

Natasha gave up her efforts to climb to the top of the cabinets and ran over to her uncle. "Mommy went on a boating trip to save the fishies."

Tam smiled, leaning down to lift his niece into his arms. "Cool. You can tell me all about it after I talk to your dad and Uncle Fitz, okay? How about you go play in the other room while we talk?"

"Are you guys gonna be talking about growed up stuff?"

"Yeah. But we won't take too long." Tam set her down, returning her bright grin.

"Okay!" Natasha bounced off into the other room, black braid swinging behind her.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Tam let loose a number of curse words in various languages. Fitz raised an eyebrow, asking the silent question once Tam was done.

"What was that for?"

"They have too much bloody rain in England!" He tossed his silver bangs out of his face, glaring a hole in the corner of the counter. "I had plenty of opportunities to leap away and visit, but there was no sun! It is raining or cloudy almost every day! The days it is sunny, everyone is outside enjoying it and I have nowhere to leap from because I'll be seen! It's winter break, so I finally had some free time while it was sunny out."

"Yikes." Keefe sympathised. "The Netherlands doesn't get much rain and when it is rainy, it's usually just a quick jaunt out of the city to get somewhere sunny. But anyway, are you just here to visit or do you have news?"

"Both? I've got a bit of news about Biana but I also wanted to check up on you guys. Make sure you were okay, see if Fitz was back on his feet."

"Which I am."

"Yup. So, I think I know where Biana is. I'm guessing we're assuming the Neverseen have her?"

Keefe nodded.

"I remembered Vespera or somebody talking about an arena hidden deep in the mountains. Lady Gisela used it to house the gorgodons before she took them to Nightfall. They took me there once, I don't remember why. Probably to show off their power, all 'look what we can do'. It is made entirely of stone with a chain net over the top. It's got metal mesh-lined cages made to hold to gorgodons, but in a pinch they'll work for dragons. If they want to house an easily-angered dragoness, that's about the only available place."

"Do you remember how to get there?" Keefe pulled a small leather bag of leaping crystal powder out of a hidden pocket in his shirt and set it on the counter.

"Do you just carry that around?"

Keefe smirked. "Life doesn't have a ton of risk or fun anymore, Fitzy. Besides, if humans see it, it really just looks like sand. Sparkly sand maybe, but just sand."

Fitz looked at the floor, trying to stifle the flood of joyful memories that had become too painful to remember. "I'd rather you not call me that."

"Oh, sorry. Didn't realize." Keefe apologized. "Anyhow, do you remember how to get there?"

Tam sighed, tapping the counter. "I remember all the different angles on that pathfinder, cause I stole it from whoever had it and stuck it on a tall shelf for laughs cause they were short, but I don't remember where they went. I could write them all down."

Fitz pulled a small notebook and pen out of his pocket. "Here you are. Does anyone have a map?"

Keefe grinned and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. "The wonder of human technology. Hey Siri?" -he waited for the mechanical voice to reply- "open a world map."

"Opening a world map."

Tam handed Keefe the list after noting the numbers down in impeccable handwriting. Keefe looked impressed. "You have better handwriting than Linh."

"I hope so. I'm the one who taught her to write."

"Welp," The blond put the device away after running over the numbers and crossing most of them out. "We'll be going to somewhere in Kazakhstan. I have no idea where. But I know where we're going."

There was a scream from the other room and Natasha came running in straight to Keefe, heavily favoring one leg. Her father scooped her up in his arms, murmuring soothing things in the Enlightened Language in her ear until she calmed down.

"What happened, sweetheart?

She sniffled. "I stepped on a Lego."

All three of them winced in sympathy. Fitz remembered when Sophie had first introduced them to the toy. Keefe and Tam had instantly purchased as many of the kits as Sophie would allow them to buy. They usually wore shoes inside, so they had only discovered how painful the colourful bricks-of-death were the same time they learned how extensive Biana's vocabulary was. Sophie had identified at least five different languages, but Linh was the one to tell her they were swearwords.

Tam rubbed his niece's arm. "How about we go put a bandaid on your foot and we go pick up a bit so it doesn't happen again? Or you could just wear shoes and we could skip the cleaning up."

Natasha considered her options, then said, "I'll put shoes on." She wriggled out of her father's arms and ran out of the room again, but slower and limping a bit.

"So what are we going to do about Marella?" Tam began fiddling with shadowvapor, forming it into various weapons. "Do we go find her, go without her? What are we doing about that?"

Keefe shrugged. "No ideas here."

Fitz winced again, reaching down to rub his knee. "Okay, I may have to sit down. My leg is killing me."

Both of them immediately reached out to steady him, looking worried.

"Guys, I'm not going to fall over. I just need to sit down." Fitz walked around the island and the couch, sinking down on it carefully. "My knee's been a lot worse lately."

Keefe and Tam joined him on the couch.

"Are you okay?"

Fitz glanced at Keefe. "I just said I just need to sit down."

"No, are you okay? You've never been the chatterbox type, but you're even more quiet than usual."

"Oh." Fitz rested his chin in his hands. "I… I miss her. I really, really miss her. I can feel my heart tear a little more when I wake up and I don't hear her up and about or see her in bed next to me. Sometimes I hear Linh and think it's Sophie and reach out to her telepathically, only to realize it's not her. I've been trying to not let it get to me for the sake of the kids. They need me to be strong for them, so I'm trying. But it's hard. I miss her so badly."

Tam leaned over and set his hand on Fitz's knee. "I miss her too. Even if she made me question her sanity twice before we even knew each other's names."

Keefe gripped his shoulder in a wordless understanding. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Linh."

Tam tossed his bangs out of his face. "Honestly, neither do I. But you're probably handling it better than either of us would."

"Thanks guys."

"Would kicking Neverseen butt make you feel better?" Tam asked, tossing him a shadowvapor dagger.

"Yes, it would." Fitz caught it, always amazed at how an almost gas like substance could become a solid weapon. "We still need to find Marella though. I can try to find her telepathically, but that's no guarantee."

Keefe opened his mouth to answer, but Natasha ran in with a Lego creation in her hands. "Daddy, Uncle Fitz, Uncle Tam, look what I made!"

All attention was instantly diverted to the small Lego house in her hands.

"That's looks great, kiddo! What is it?"

Natasha grinned. "It's Everglen, Daddy! It looks just like it, right?"

Fitz studied the brightly coloured object, built with bricks in every colour of the rainbow and then some, with no symmetry or attempt at design. "Yeah, sure! Yeah it does!"

His niece took the praise and ran off again grinning..

"She's never been to Everglen?"

"She's never been to Everglen."

Tam chuckled. "I thought the attempt was cute. But anyway, Fitz?"

"Telepathic contact, right."

He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind toward the Lost Cities, combing through the heavily compacted minds for one in particular.

_Fitz, is that you?_

_Marella?_

_Yup._

_How did you respond before I'd actually formed a connection?_

_Practice. After all the mental exercises we did, I know exactly what your mind feels like._ she replied.

He smiled. _Where are you?_

_Alluveterre. After the Neverseen's downfall, the Black Swan reinhabited it._

_Can you meet up with us? Tam has a possible lead on Biana. Be ready to fight, we don't know much about it._

_You're in the Netherlands, correct?_

_Yes._

_Give me between five and ten minutes. I go into the Lost Cities in disguise, so it'll take me a bit to wash this stupid dye out of my hair. _

_Ten minutes. Got it._ He disconnected. "She'll meet up with us in ten minutes at the leap location."

Tam coated himself in shadows and when they dissipated, he was wearing his battle armour, which really didn't look very different from his normal clothes, except now he had twin katana sheathes slung on his back with the leather straps crisscrossing on his chest."What do we do about Maria though? We can't leave her here alone and we certainly can't take her with us."

Keefe grinned. "I have an arrangement with my dad. Sometimes I just drop her at Candleshade with a note pinned to her collar. I'm not sure if he approves of this arrangement, but it works." He leaned back and called, "Sha-sha, go get ready to go!

"Okay, Daddy!" Running footsteps and Natasha jumped and clung to the back of the couch, grinning. She had changed from traditionally elvin clothes into a pair of green denim overalls and a long-sleeved pink shirt. Her dark hair spilled from under her dusty pink knit hat. "I'm ready!"

"Do you have shoes on, kiddo?"

"Nooooo."

"Go put shoes on."

"Okay." She hopped over the back of the couch and slid down to the seat. Scrambling under the coffee table, she retrieved one black flat with a pink glitter bow. "I can't find the other one."

Keefe sighed and knelt next to it. "I can see it right there, Tasha, but you''ll have to get it. I can't reach."

Natasha pouted and pulled the shoe out, slipping both on before running ahead to the door.

Keefe stood, narrowly missing the edge of the table, and grabbed his wallet from the top of it. "It's amazing how often missing-shoe-itis strikes as soon as she doesn't particularly want to go somewhere. Usually, we're tripping over her shoes, but as soon as it is time to leave, suddenly, they are nowhere to be seen."

"All of my daughters have the same foot size, so it's mix-and-match a lot of the time. It's only when they have warning that suddenly all the left shoes in our house go missing at the same time. Every single one that is not being worn. They have at least thirty pairs of shoes between them, which isn't actually a lot for six girls, but suddenly we have no matching pairs of shoes. Every. Single. Left. Shoe. Has been hidden. And, of course, nobody has any idea where they are." Fitz shrugged. "Natasha, don't run in the hall please!"

She sighed and the pompom on her hat stopped bouncing so much.

Tam chuckled. "Guilty. So, ridiculously guilty. We didn't do the hiding of shoes, they would genuinely get lost, half the time because we purposely left them outside on the beach and the tide would leave them several hundred feet away which we would then retrieve them from after the event, but we did something similar. Linh and I were the same shoe size for a while, same size in everything for about a year, before I grew, but our parents wouldn't let us swap shoes, because girls should wear girl's shoes and boys should wear boy's shoes, or that was what they told us. So we'd wait until we were already where we were going and switch shoes. We got in so much trouble once we got home, but they couldn't do anything in public."

"That explains why Linh is so chill about them swapping shoes. Even though they are two shoes sizes apart, or they were the last time we got them shoes."

Fitz glanced around to make sure there were no humans within sight and pressed the elevator button telekinetically. Natasha turned around and gave him a look she had probably learned from her father. "Uncle Fitz, you're not supposed to do that in public."

"Grownups get to do whatever they want." He grinned back at her. His niece pouted.

Tam rolled his eyes and corrected under his breath, "Not quite whatever they want."

Keefe grinned, racing his daughter to the ground floor button and letting her win. "Pretty close though!"

Natasha giggled. "I win, Daddy!"

"Good job, short stuff!" He picked her up so she could look out the glass window. While she was distracted, Keefe murmured to Fitz and Tam, "Could you both go ahead and meet Marella at the leap site? I don't want Shasha getting distracted and wanting to say hi. I'll take her to Candleshade while you guys catch Marella up. That good?"

Fitz glanced at Tam and both of they gave a curt nod to Keefe. Fitz covertly removed his pathfinder from a hidden pocket. Tam grabbed his wrist and they leapt away on a beam shining through the elevator window.

The empty plains were marred only with a scratched circle in the dirt and an obscurer hidden in a bush. Despite the fact that the only major road was behind a large hill, they wanted as much security as possible around their only leap point for miles.

A glittering form appeared and solidified into Marella. She was wearing nice jeans and a long sleeve shirt with ruffles on the cuffs and v-neckline. "Fitz, Tam."

"Marella." Tam stepped forward and grasped her by the wrist. Fitz copied the gesture.

She tied her blonde curls back. "You're missing two. Where's Keefe and Linh?"

Fitz pulled out the temporary crystal Keefe made. "Coming. Keefe has to drop Natasha off with his father. Linh's on a trip with her marine biology team. Keefe's going to pick her up on his way here."

"Alright. Where are we going that you need me so bad?"

Tam gathered shadowflux in his hands and formed it into two katanas which he sheathed. "We found Biana and we're going to spring her."

"Okay. Know what we're getting into?"

Fitz grinned, watching Keefe and Linh glitter into the leap spot. "Nope. That's the best part."

When they landed, all they could see was rock and stone. The crystal had sent them to a gorge. Most of the rock was white or pale grey and there was clear evidence that this was not a natural canyon.

"This isn't right." Tam knelt and examined the stone they stood on. "The crystal took us to the top of a mountain with a trapdoor down into the base."

"They must have caved it in when they realized we were onto them. These rockslides aren't recent." Keefe pointed to where young pines were growing out of the fallen rock.

"That one is."

Fitz followed Marella's gaze to where several plants lay overturned. There were clear lines in the gorge walls above them where it had been carved out. "Do those look like dragon claw marks to anyone else?"

Linh nodded. "And there's a surprising lack of moisture in the air, considering I can sense, at least two small bodies of water within the reasonable vicinity."

Tam and Keefe launched themselves up to the gashes in the stone that now clearly resembled the marks Fitz had seen both Dex and his sister make when taking off. Only, much, much bigger.

Marella sheathed her arms in flame. "If those are claw marks, the dragon that caused them must be massive. Mountain sized at least."

"Hey guys, get up here!"

Fitz clenched his fist and pulled the earth under them upward, lifting himself, Linh and Marella into the air. All three of them saw the canopy stretched over a mountaintop about a quarter of a mile away. Fitz reached out through the earth and recognized the form that lay slumped under it. "Biana. She's been chained to the mountain."

"Can you get us over there?" Fitz knew Keefe hadn't had his quarterstaff when they'd left the Netherlands, yet it now lay in his hands, tip moving in small circles.

"Can a borgan swim?" He gathered the earth under them and launched the five of them forward. A reverse of the motion brought them a soft landing on the backside of the peak Biana was strapped to. Tam and Fitz worked together to pull the canopy down, but the angle of the sun put in behind them and kept Biana's body in shadow.

Marella whispered a strange word and Everblaze curled around her arm. It took a snake-like form and nuzzled her arm, clearly looking to be petted. "Oh come on! I know you're technically sentient, but now is not the time."

The yellow flame seemed to huff, before it slithered off her arm toward Biana's unconscious form. It gathered around her chest and sunk under her skin, not leaving the faintest glow. Fitz held his breath, hoping they weren't too late. He had never seen the complete lack of colour before.

Biana drew a deep breath in, eyes flying open. She did not otherwise move, but Fitz carefully lifted his sister into his arms. "We got you. Don't worry."

Linh, brow furrowed, lifted a moisture covered hand to the dragoness's arm. "Water levels in her body are unusually high."

Keefe suddenly yelled from his self-assigned sentry post. "Leap! Now!"

Each of them removed their individual pathfinders. Fitz launched himself up far enough for his crystal to catch the light and laughed as the sunbeam whisked him away.

All of them returned to the leap point in the Netherlands within seconds of each other. Tam took a bit longer, but soon returned with a sheepish look on his face.

"Switched to the wrong facet by accident."

"No problem mate." Keefe's quarterstaff was gone and Fitz just now noticed that Linh was wearing a SeaWorld T-shirt.

"Where did you get that?"

She looked down, brushing her silver ends out of her face. "Oh, they sponsored our expedition this weekend. We were all wearing them."

Biana groaned. Her hair was slowly regaining its deep chocolate brown. "We need to suit up."

Fitz set her on her feet. "No quips? What happened?"

"We, we have to go back. I saw something there."

Fitz glanced around. No humans in sight. "Keefe, make sure that obscurer is running properly."

"Checked it this morning."

The rest of the colour returned to her face and she blinked, familiar teal replacing the bone-bleached grey. "They have Dex. I don't know how. But they found out about his powers and they've forced him into his wild dragon state. He couldn't communicate at all. His thoughts were a mess. The Neverseen had this strange electric whip that was leaving these horrible burns all over his wings. There were puncture marks in his scales and they had him wearing this horrible harness. He couldn't move his wings or tail. The saddle, if you could call it that, was too tight everywhere. He had trouble walking, and-"

Tam stopped her. "I don't mean to be insensitive, but you need at least one night of rest. He probably won't get worse overnight and you can't be of much use if you're half-dead yourself. Give us one night to gear up and we'll hit them midmorning tomorrow. Just as the sun's coming over the ridge."

**Couple things: One, I know nothing about marine biology, it is not my forte, I do not like fish. Two, Fitz was ****earth bending. If you don't know what that is, take a look at Avater: The Last Airbender and the character Toph.**

**Again, so sorry about the late update. But they should be a bit more frequent. I'm also trying to get another one-shot out.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**

**P.S. NEW STORY! It will be published whenever I finish the first chapter. Reviews after this update will get the name of this new story in addition to the normal tidbit. To my guest reviewers, I'd love you send you guys tidbits but I can't. Sorry. Love you guys too.**


	13. Clan Cliffbreaker

**I'm back! Finally...This chapter is a beast. 7300 words. It was painful in some parts, but it's finally here. I really hope you guys enjoy this. **

The air in the room was quiet and tense. Biana was asleep on the couch. Linh was leaning against the counter, sharpening her trident. The soft rasp ground on his nerves.

Fitz leaned down and rubbed his bad leg again. After the rescue they'd pulled off the day before, his knee had been aching.

"Hey Fitz."

He looked up.

"Do you have your sword?" Tam had trimmed his bangs to keep them out of his eyes.

Fitz shook his head. "It's in the vault in Cliffside, along with Sophie's, and our maelthruln armour. We'd assumed we would never need to use them again."

"Bet you're wishing you hadn't done that now.

"I'm wishing a lot of things hadn't happened."

"Do you have any sort of weapon?" Keefe walked up to them in battle gear. Like Tam's, it wasn't much different from his normal clothes, but the silver cloth was actually woven of metal, and the quarterstaff in his hand was carried casually, a warning to any observer that this was not a mere walking stick.

Fitz shook his head. "I'm not sure I should go. I don't have my sword and my knee is worse that is has been in over a decade."

"We need your eyes underground." Tam gathered shadows in his hands. "I can make you a new sword. I don't think there's anything that can be done about the leg. I know humans have fabric knee braces, it might help, but we need you. Without Sophie or Dex, we're stuck on the ground. We at least need to be able to move under it."

He sighed. "You know what my sword looks like?"

"I'm the one who forged it. I hope so." The shadowflux in his hands shifted, straightening out and forming a dark blade in a sheath, along with a sword belt. "Did I get it right?"

Fitz took the sword and slid it six inches out of its sheath. The blade was black instead of brown, but the balance and weight felt at home in his hands. "I haven't held my sword in fifteen years. This feels good."

"Fifteen?"

"Around that. It's been a very long time."

Linh felt the edge on the points of her trident. "So when do we go?"

"As soon as Biana wakes up." Keefe shoved his quarterstaff into its holder on his back. "Natasha will be fine with my dad. She may end up staying permanently, depending on what happens. Last time we ended up with the marauder's life, which is no place for a child."

"Isn't Linh pregnant though?"

Linh shook her head, sliding leather guards over the tines of her trident. "I'm not. My cycle was being weird for a few months."

"When do we leave?" Biana asked

All four of them jumped backward. Fitz stumbed against the counter, bumping his bad knee on a cabinet and letting fly a particularly nasty curse. Linh almost swung her trident into Biana's head.

"Don't _do_ that!" Tam collected himself and put his knives away.

"Sorry." Biana said. "I forgot how quiet I am."

"No kidding. I almost brained you." Linh muttered.

"So, when do we leave?"

Fitz hooked his sword on his belt. "Right now, if you're up for it."

This rescue was much more coordinated. Instead of announcing their position immediately, Biana took them all high up into the air, floating just above the bottom of the clouds. Linh pulled the cloud's moisture into a small flexible water bottle she had hooked to her belt, leaving a thin screen of vapor to conceal them.

Fitz was balanced on Biana's left wing arm. He'd left the sword's sheath behind. If things went to plan, he wouldn't need it and it would only hinder him.

_Dropping_! Biana warned him milliseconds before she folded her wings and flipped, dumping all of them over the mountain base.

Fitz reached out, feeling the earth far below him. It softened under his touch, forming a forgiving landing pad when he, Keefe and Tam struck the ground. The other two men formed identical three-point landings while Fitz stayed upright, steadied by the stone beneath his feet.

There were three figures outside the arena. Two were cloaked, the third was clearly Vespera, sitting under a canopy held by her underlings. Horrible, pained roars were coming from inside the pit. The nameless Neverseen were clearly uncomfortable, but Vespera clearly didn't care.

Fitz froze at the gentle tap on his leg. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Tam signal him to start a telepathic conversation.

_I'll hit the guy on the left, you take the guy on the right._ Tam pulled a throwing star from a hidden pocket.

Keefe gripped his quarterstaff harder. _What about me? Do I get Vespera?_

_No. Leave her to Biana. Linh's covering our escape, you get those chains off the arena._

The blond gave a sharp nod._ Fitz, give me a boost._

_Not yet._ Fitz steadied his sword in his hand. The last time he'd done this, he hadn't needed the extra time, but twenty years took its toll on his training.

_Now!_ He leapt forward, driving his sword through the Neverseen on Vespera's left. The other gurgled and fell seemingly untouched, but with a tiny dagger in his neck. The canopy fell on top of Vespera, trapping her beneath the heavy fabric before she could react. Keefe launched himself into the air with a boost from the earth under him and brought his staff down on one of the critical links. The metal shattered under the reenforced ironwood, causing a cascade of the chain and opening the pit to the sky.

Vespera ripped through the fabric hindering her, despite her lack of a knife. She let loose and inhuman hiss-screech, which was abruptly cut off by Biana wrapping her claws around the Ancient's middle and throwing her as far as hardened dragon muscles could.

The Neverseen in the arena made the wise choice to drop the energy whip and surrender. Biana tossed him in a cell and slammed the door shut, making a large, paw-shaped dent.

When Fitz jumped down to the arena's hard stone floor with Tam, he muttered a few nasty ogrish curses under his breath. He recognized Dex's draconic form under the metal and blood, but the inhumane cruelty he'd clearly suffered made him question how averse to violence elves truly were.

The dragon growled, backing away. Fitz set his sword against the arena wall and held out his open hands. "It's okay, big guy. We're not going to hurt you." Tam and Keefe also placed their weapons either in their sheaths or out of reach.

Dragon-Dex, sensing that these people meant him no harm, slumped on the ground and whined, clawing at the spiked muzzle biting into his throat. Biana shifted back to her elvin form and easily found the points where the muzzle connected. It fell away and Fitz contorted it into a useless piece of metal.

With the muzzle removed, Biana set to work on the harness holding his wings to his body. They assisted where they could, but none of them could match her enhanced strength, and none of them wanted to risk being bitten should he panic. When he was finally free of the horrid cuffs and restraints, they could see just how scrawny he was. He would have been fine, for a five-month-old hatchling.

"Does he know it's us?" Tam kept his hands clear of his weapons in an attempt to put dragon-Dex more at ease.

"I don't know." Biana murmured. "I know just how easy it is to get sucked in by the primal side when you're scared. I can't sort through his memories because I don't know if he recognizes friend from foe. He knows my scent though." She reached out and ran her hand along the dragon's forehead. "He knows he's safe with me."

A sharp whistle echoed off the mountainsides. Fitz grabbed for his sword, before realizing there had only been one note, not two. A shadow fell over the valley and he looked up to see a scaled belly the size of Verdi's pasture. A head larger than Everglen's mansion lowered next to them and the eye blinked, glittering with pain and sorrow.

"My poor son."

It was always strange to hear Kelser Dizznee's voice coming from a Titan dragon's yawning maw. A paw that nearly didn't fit inside the arena closed around dragon-Dex's form, producing a high-pitching yelp and keen of pain.

"His wings." Kesler pulled back and let Biana pull the limbs to a more comfortable position.

"They're broken. Almost every bone. Oh dear, righteous God in heaven." she whispered. "I don't know if I can put them in a brace without Marella's help. Where is she anyway?"

Tam sighed. "She said she had to go and didn't have time to explain. She'll be here whenever that's over."

She nodded. "Fitz, bend to metal into the shape of his wings. He trusts me, but I'd like to do this as quickly as possible."

Fitz lifted the metal telekinetically, forcing it into a crude shape resembling a dragon's wing. "I'll have to do the rest around the wing. I'm out of practice and bending metal one way after bending it the other is difficult."

Dragon-Dex yelped, trying to scramble away when he saw the metal brace floating toward his wing. Fitz cringed, trying to remember something in Ancient Draconic that would allow him to communicate.

The words were probably horribly mangled, but he hoped he got the message across. Instead, the dragon looked at him quizzically and gave him a confused grunt. Kesler and Biana burst into mountain-shaking laughter.

"I didn't say anything funny. I said 'I'm going to help you.'"

"No you didn't." Biana wheezed. "That is not what you said at all."

"What did I say then?"

"Picture frames fish toothpaste eat candle farts."

"Oops."

Keefe and Tam burst into laughter. Fitz sighed. "Can you tell him what I meant to say please?"

"I wouldn't bother, brother. I think the damage is done. He thinks you're an idiot."

"Let's just get the brace on his wing and be done with it." Fitz lowered the brace onto dragon-Dex's wing and fastened it around the limb, holding all the broken bones in place. The second wing went easier, as he understood what they were doing and didn't struggle against the brace.

This time, when Kesler wrapped his paw around dragon-Dex's body, being careful of the wings, he didn't attempt to fight back.

Fitz launched himself, Tam and Keefe into the air. Linh was already waiting on Kesler's back. Biana flew up on graceful teal wings.

"Hold on, young ones."

Fitz reminded himself to not look down or up as Kesler lifted his wings and prepared for takeoff. He'd done that once and spent the rest of the trip feeling noxious.

They were several thousand feet in the air in seconds, thanks to Kesler's massive size. Fitz felt the wind change around him and hunkered down against the massive scales, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt the heat of a swirling blast of dragonfire. There was a brief inferno surrounding him and then an abrupt change in air pressure and temperature. When he looked up again, they were no longer on Earth.

A massive ocean, blue as can be, stretched on in front of them. There were unnatural mountain peaks rising in the far distance above sheer grey cliffs. The birds that flew by were ones he had never seen before, but he recognized the shape of dragon nests in the cliffs even from this distance. The dragons that lived here had to all be Kesler's size or bigger.

"Wow."

Kesler was floating through stunning valleys in a few flaps. Ancient power thrummed through the air and suddenly Fitz had an intimate knowledge of the rock several hundred feet below him.

"You guys feel this too?"

Keefe nodded. "It's incredible. Where's it coming from?"

The scales underneath them rumbled. "The strength you feel is what happens to the air, water and earth after millenia of dragons living is the ancestral home of Clan Cliffbreaker, young ones. My home."

"I thought they didn't like you." Tam said. All of them rebalanced themselves as Kesler landed on a mountain peak.

"They do not. But they will not turn us away. Dex is Clan Cliffbreaker as much as I am. They will not turn away a blood relative, especially one so young, and injured."

There was a great roar and dragons, most greater than Kesler in size, climbed up the peaks on the mountains surrounding them. None of their scales had the truly brilliant sheen Fitz had come to expect from dragon scales, but the muted, duller colours spoke of age and might. Wild, Titan, dragons.

One of the largest ones spoke first. "The hour of our doom grows late and Chyvren, son of Liani returns to the nest he abandoned with an injured youngling and elvin allies."

"Greetings, Mulraym of the Eternal Fire," Kesler rumbled. "I come asking for aid."

Biana jerked her head to the side and the four of them slid off the side of his neck.

One of the dragons, a muted forest green, shifted, glancing at the one Kesler has named Mulraym. "This is not Mulraym."

"No." Dex was set down on the stone as gently as possible. "This is his son Jurvag, come to represent his father. It is good to see you, cousin."

A dragon larger than all the others landed in the valley below. Despite the difference in height, its head still came level with the others.

"Grandfather." Kesler lowered his head.

"Who is the boy?"

"My son, Dex. He is badly wounded and his wings are broken. I brought him here for hope of your aid."

"Who are the others?"

Kesler lifted all of them telekinetically and held them in front of the largest dragon. "The girl is a Dragonborn and my daughter-in-law. This one is her brother and these are her friends. They fight well, all of them."

"This is the Last Dragonborn?" The old dragon paused. "What is your name?"

"Biana, daughter of Della, Asheiik Suldreen, Most Gracious One." She inclined her head and made the formal salute.

"Biana. Poisonous lily in the old language. How accurate. And you are Clan Moonlark?"

"Yes, Most Gracious One."

"Do you answer for your clan?"

"No, Most Gracious One. My sister-in-law was the clan leader. After her death, the title fell to her daughter who is in hiding and has not been able to appoint a regent, nor has it been necessary living in our homeland."

"I see. Why have you come here?

Biana struggled to remain appropriately formal and chose to switch to Ancient Draconic to help keep her composure. Fitz didn't understand what she said, but the Dragon Elder apparently felt as gracious as his title and allowed all of them to stay.

Kesler moved Dex to a room inside the mountain and lowered the rest of them down. It was open to the outside like most of the rooms and was made for smaller dragons. Kesler told them he would return shortly and left them there.

Marella contacted them via Imparter soon after. Fitz gave her brief directions and let Kesler know to retrieve her.

There were as many or more smaller dragons are there were massive, mountain shaking ones in Clan Cliffbreaker. Most of them were relatives of Dex, mostly cousins, with a few extended nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles and the like. Fitz didn't bother keeping track of all the names thrown at him.

Kesler returned a few hours later with two forms on his back. Marella and Juline were equally worried about Dex, but took different tasks to speed his recovery. Marella had attempted to take on some of the relations with the clan so Juline could be with her son, but that was shut down quickly as Marella couldn't communicate with some of the older dragons with any regularity.

As they were not needed, Fitz, Tam, and Keefe took to exploring the mountains and the tunnels within. With permission of course. They never needed a guide, as Fitz could access the entire tunnel makeup by touching the rock. Everything they expected to find was packed in different rooms. Ancient relics from times long past, remnants of the Dragon Riders of long ago. And there were things they did not intend to find.

An isolated dwarven civilization lived under the mountains and the protection of the dragons above. They mined and kept the precious ores and gems formed by the potent magic of old dragons. At first they were afraid the dwarves would be hostile to outsiders, but like all dwarves they had encountered in the land of Adeala, they were hospitable to the extreme. Unlike them however, possibly too hospitable.

* * *

As soon as the other dragons would let her, Biana took her dragon form and snuggled into Dex's side, being careful of his wing. Often there was a telltale glow under her paw when she shared her energy to allow him to heal faster. Eventually, one of the healers who had chosen to take an elvin form warned him that if Biana continued this, it would cause her to deteriorate more than it would help.

Fitz sat cross legged next to his sister. Her scales had lost their glow and were far duller than they should be for a young Dragonborn in perfect health.

"Biana, you have to save some of your energy for yourself."

She huffed a small plume of smoke and didn't answer.

"I'm serious. Let yourself recover before you do that again. I know you're worried, but he's healing himself. Dex is half-dragon as much as you are. If anything his healing factor is greater than yours."

"I don't want to feel helpless."

"You're not." Fitz reached out and scratched behind one of the horns on her head. "The healers told me you're providing enough body heat for him to be able to focus his energy on mending his injuries instead of keeping up dragons' stupidly high normal body temperature. You're already helping. And you rescued him in the first place."

"Yeah. I'm just worried about him."

"Anyway, we found dwarves under the mountain and since you've outgrown your old armour, maybe they could make you a new set. We might need it."

Biana sighed and got up. "We might. Do they have eltule steel?"

"I'd imagine they do. There's ancient draconic power permeating the ground and affecting the formation of the ores and precious stones. If anything they may have something stronger."

"Fine. I'll go. Are the tunnels big enough for me to get down?"

Fitz shook his head. "Once you get a ways down, they get small. The only people who use them are dwarves. They were big enough for us, but it was a close fit."

Biana shifted. She was paler than normal and her hair was turning dark blonde on the ends. She rubbed her eyes a few times and instead of the bright draconic teal, they were a pale blue, similar to Keefe's eyes.

"Maybe we should wait. You don't look like you should be going underground."

"I don't draw my energy solely from sunlight. There is natural light in here, I've just been reflecting it onto Dex instead of absorbing it myself. I'll be fine. I'll go for a fly after this, get something to eat."

"Okay." Fitz lead her down the first tunnel. The journey took considerably shorter with a destination in mind instead of wandering.

The dwarves were incredibly welcoming as they had been before, but Fitz was surprised with the amount of bowing and scraping in front of Biana. They showed her their most valuable ores and gems, which she turned down in favor of protection.

Then the dwarven Lord of the colony made his appearance and insisted on personally showing them the entire collection again.

"It is such an honour to have the great Last Dragonborn visit my humble halls! May I call a palenquine for you?"

Biana sighed, but maintained a polite facade. "No thank you. I can walk."

"Of course, of course! Come, I will show you the best we have to offer!"

Fitz opened his mouth to digress, but Biana gave him a slight shake of the head.

_Let him show off. I already know what I want. We'll be leaving within five minutes after they stop the pleasantries._

He nodded, letting the Dwarf-lord lead them back to the vault they had just left. This time, Biana was much less lenient about what she preferred. Despite her extended control on her emotions, she too was running low on patience.

"This is our store of towhese, Gracious One. Very rare metal it is. Good for ceremonial armour and sword sheaths."

"Yes, those are perfectly good uses, but how much strength does it have? Could it withstand a blow from another dragon larger than me?"

"Well, no, it will crumple and break if not reenforced by a different metal. But why would you need to be fighting? You are the Last Dragonborn! Surely you have competent guardians?"

Biana sighed and put on a fake smile. "Yes, my relatives are all good with the blade or their weapon of choice."

"If towhese is not to your liking, then what about this?" He led them to a pile of unrefined ore. Fitz could feel the amount of earth and precious stone mixed in with the metal and knew it was unrefined to make it look like there was more of it. "This is nastralt. It is a silver metal with webbing of deep cobalt blue. Beautiful, isn't it?"

The Dwarf-lord picked up a refined piece and held it up. Biana nodded. "Is there enough for a set of armour?"

"Well, not yet, but we are finding more every day!"

Fitz felt the lie and sighed, rolling his eyes slight enough for only Biana to catch.

Biana decided to cut to the chase. She murmured to Fitz _It's getting late._ before asking aloud. "Do you have any stores of eltule steel?"

"Eltule steel? Why of course! But it is not suitable for one as illustrious as you, O Gracious One. Do you need armour for your bodyguard?" He gestured to Fitz.

By this point, both of them were heartily done with the attitude. Biana dropped the friendly act and said with steel in her voice, "He is not my bodyguard. He is my brother. He is here because I needed his aid in navigating. I am here because I have outgrown my old dragon armour and need a new set. Would you be so kind as to show me your store of eltule steel? Of course, I would be happy to take my request elsewhere."

The dwarf paled under his beard, realizing that this elf was not the airhead he had taken her for. "Of course, Gracious One." He led them to a large vault of great rolls of metal. "Is this suitable?"

Biana glanced at Fitz. "How pure is it?"

Fitz laid his hand on the ground, palm flat against the rock. His senses radiated around the rock walls. He felt the rolls of metal and the bits of earth within them. This steel had a slight magnetic pull and it was stiffer than it should have been. The earth inside it did not match anything he felt inside the mountains. "It's been transported from somewhere else. Purity wise, it's about on par with what we'd find in most other places, not particularly notable, but it's old. Not as flexible as it should be. If you tried to make dragon armour out of this using the old methods, it would snap and possible injure you. These mines aren't for metal, they're for gems. It's been stripped of all useful ores long ago. If you want armour that performs, we should go somewhere else."

"No wait!" The dwarf-lord shouted as they turned to leave. "We have better ores! I'll show you them! We can make armour for you, free of charge!"

Biana held up one clawed and scaled finger to silence him, but addressed Fitz. "I have had enough of this chattering monkey. The dwarves of the Majestachyny Mountains have provided me with armour and weapons reliably. We will go there." She formed a portal of dragonfire and sent them back to the top. "That dwarf talked more than most humans."

"He was annoying. I'll stay here with Dex. You go fly and hunt like you said you would." Then Fitz noticed the sun was setting. "Or maybe not."

Biana shed her elvin skin again. "No, I can draw energy from the stars as easily as the sun."

* * *

He must have fallen asleep, sitting against the stone walls. When he was woken by the flap of wings and the thud of a dragon landing.

Biana looked much better. There was a visible sheen to her scales, except for around her mouth where the scales was coated with dried blood.

"Hey Biana, you need to wash your mouth."

"Did I make a mess? I was really hungry."

"It's not a big deal. In elvin form it'll freak people out, but everyone here knows dragons are carnivores, and messy ones."

"Regardless." She began licking and rubbing the scales clean. "And anyway, it's deer blood. I don't want to waste it. Deer are about the tastiest things I can get. The only thing better is ogre."

"An ogre. When did you eat an ogre?"

"He was trying to kill me! Not very effectively since his sword couldn't get through my scales, but my eating him was in self-defense. I can't help it if orges taste good."

Fitz chuckled. "The healers said Dex should be waking up soon. His vitals are steady and the broken bones are nearly healed in some places. His brain is also steadying out. He should be balanced between his elvin and dragon minds."

"Good. You should go take care of yourself now. I saw you slept, so you should go eat. If Dex wakes while you're gone, he'll probably still be awake when you get back."

Fitz took her advice and trotted down the tunnel that sloped down to the right. It opened up into a cavern large enough for most dragons. The walls were pockmarked with small square rooms, each with a bed and a small storage chest. He couldn't see Tam, but he was clearly in the room shrouded in shadows. Keefe was sitting by the large firepit, talking to some of the younger dragons in elvin form. There was a large roast over the fire and occasionally one of the dragons would shear off a piece and swallow it in one bite.

Fitz walked over and sat next to Keefe. The dragons paused their animated conversation and gave him a respectful nod before ignoring him again.

"It's better than last time. What are they talking about?"

Keefe grinned. "I stopped listening about the time they were talking about the best way to crack a creatures skull to leave the brain intact. They made it sound like they were cracking eggs.

"Yuck."

"It's a really good roast though. But then dragons almost invariably make good food. Has anything changed up there?"

"Dex should be waking up sometime soon. Where are Linh and Marella?"

Keefe shrugged. "Juline's been looking after them. Right now, I think they're asleep."

"We didn't get Biana any armour. The dwarves had too much attitude. We'll be stopping by the Majestachyny Mountains to do that before we go home."

"When are we going to do that anyway? They're not particularly friendly. And the kids seem to be safer without us."

"I don't know." Fitz stared into the fire. "We need time to prepare and I want the kiddos to grow up semi-normally, not like we did. We still turned out okay-ish, but I know all of us were pretty messed up for a while, especially Sophie. And she still had nightmares up until the quints were born and neither of us got enough sleep to have any dreams."

"That must have been awful. I still take a few seconds to register where I am sometimes. I have to remind myself that I'm not with the Neverseen anymore, I'm not in Ravagog, all those things I was dreaming about are in the past. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and the house is dark and it takes either my vision adjusting or Linh waking up and telling me it's okay before I calm down. Most of the time I can't go back to sleep."

Fitz sighed. He remembered all the sleepless nights when either he or Sophie woke in a cold sweat. "That happened a lot to us. I usually sparred with Nubiti, since the others were asleep. Sometimes it would be Sophie and I'd find her at some insane hour curled up in the shower crying. Or we'd both be up in a cold sweat and just hold on to each other until the sun came up."

Keefe nodded. "I was lucky Ro's a night owl and was often awake at the same time I was, so we could spar until I was too tired to continue."

The young dragons on the other side of the firepit had gone silent. One of them asked, "What happened to you?"

Both of them looked up from the fire.

"War." Keefe tossed his hair out of his face. "I was fourteen when it all got started. Nineteen when it ended. The worst thing I'd done went from ditching class and lying about it to killing battalions of soldiers with no regret."

Fitz stared into the flames. "I was at least old enough to be considered an adult in Adealan cultures. Sophie, my wife, was tied to the war since she was born. Kidnapped at twelve, seventeen, maybe eighteen when peace was finally declared."

A dragon, with green eyes and hair betraying the colour of his scales, sighed. "We like to say we fought in a war. All of us younger ones are about three, four hundred years. All we did was stand on a cliff and watch the soldiers die. None of us ever drew blood. Not like that."

The one next to him, blue-eyed, asked, "We know the Dragon Prince is not so old, but is he really so young?"

"Dex? Yeah. He may be younger than Sophie, we never checked. But they were born the same year. How old are the oldest twins?" Keefe leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees.

"Not much older than Jo." Fitz tried to remember when his niece and nephew were born. "I think they're thirteen, so he'd be thirty-three, maybe thirty-four. Younger than me, and I am not forty yet, thank you."

A red dragon shook her head. "No one here is that young. The ones that remember when there was war in these mountains are so old no one remembers them anymore. And yet none of us can say we've faced that. Clan Cliffbreaker is fairly isolated. Two-legs don't come here. I've never actually seen an elf before. I thought they had pointed ears."

"It's complicated." Fitz ran the tips of his fingers along the rim of his ear, feeling the cartilage shift in the familiar points. "In the Lost Cities, they grow to points after a few thousand years. In Adeala, Ilfinarugën specifically, they are born with the points. I have them as the mark of a warrior, but I keep them hidden among my people."

"You are Fitz, son of Alden, of Clan Moonlark? The war hero?" The blue dragon spoke again.

"Aye. That is me."

Keefe stood. "I'm for bed. See you in the morning Fitz."

"Goodnight."

The dragons on the other side of the firepit were quiet now. Fitz took out the knife that was his constant companion and sliced a chunk off the roast. He left the dragons to their conversation and climbed up the rock wall to the alcove shrouded in shadow, managing it one-handed.

There were five beds against the three walls. The dragons had thought their request to be bunked together strange, but he, Keefe, Tam, Linh, and Marella found comfort in knowing the others were near. The women were asleep against the right-hand wall. Linh had a jug of water by her head where she couldn't accidentally knock it over, but where she could easily defend herself if necessary. Marella slept under the torch lighting the room.

Tam sat cross-legged in the left-hand corner, facing the wall. Fitz didn't disturb him. Despite the fact that they could not have been safer, Tam had retained his old wartime habit of checking the shadows surrounding them for anything out of place before he went to bed. Fitz wished he could say he'd grown out of his old habits. But after he finished the meat, he sharpened and polished the shadowflux blade and set it by his bed. His knife lay in its sheath under his pillow.

"Can't stop yourself from doing it either?" Keefe sat on his bed, running his hands along his quarterstaff to check for any cracks or damages. "I know I'm not going to find anything, but for some reason I check anyway. Linh was able to break herself of the habit of keeping a full waterskin by our bed at night, but it took a very long time before I didn't check my weapon every night before bed, despite the fact I hadn't used it in years."

"Sophie used to get up and train in the middle of the night with no regard for the conditions. She was stuck in the night watch pattern we set up. Her post was at midnight, so she woke up for it, but she had nothing to watch. It took me a very long time to help her get out of the set pattern."

"I never got that set in it, thankfully." Tam released the shadows covering the room. "I just get up really early some days and make myself go back to sleep. It's easier, staying with Tiergan still. He's helped me get out of some of those habits. Except for this one."

"We are going back into a war zone. It might be time to get back into some of those old habits." Keefe set his staff next to his bed. "Goodnight, Tam, Fitz."

"Goodnight." Fitz set his sword within easy reach and lay down, feeling the hilt of his knife under his pillow, as usual. It was greater effort than he would ever tell to remove it and set it by his sword. His war-worn instincts screamed at him to put it back, but he left it there, reminding himself he was perfectly safe within the walls of an ancient dragon clan stronghold.

* * *

The morning dawned in strange lighting. Sunlight was reflected off various mirrors to bring it deep into the mountain. Sometimes it altered the colour of the light, bathing the cavern in different colours. Today the light stuck gold on the walls, a hopeful shade. Fitz wasn't superstitious, but he always felt things were going to go well when there was an abundance of the colour gold.

He jumped and rolled, falling the ten or so feet with ease. The remains of last night's fire smouldered in the pit. He heard several louder voices drifting down the tunnel.

Marella landed next to him, clipping a firesteel onto her belt. "What do you think is going on up there?"

"Dex panicked when he woke up and they're trying to calm him down, but he doesn't know who any of them are, so it's not working. They're trying to find Biana or Juline, but they left earlier this morning to get some lady supplies, so their search is fruitless."

"That was specific."

"I can feel them with my feet and Biana told me they were leaving."

"Oh yeah. Earthbending senses." She tied her hand into a ponytail with a strip of leather. The tiny braids she usually sported were down and the usual curls were her natural waves. Any elven pomp and prim was replaced by utilitarian leather armour coated in a flameproof liquid. Like the rest of them, she'd fallen back into old habits easily. "We should probably get up there and help out."

Fitz led her back up to the top of the peak. As he had felt, there were several dragons surrounding Dex, some in an elven body. Dex was on his feet, though shaky, both wings raised above him in metal braces. He was tense, tail waving gently over the ground and claws digging into the rock.

Fitz tapped out a rhythm they had set at least fifteen years ago. Dex froze and looked at him. Fitz carefully reached for his mind, wary of a dragon's wanton strength.

_Fitz?_

_Yes, it's me, brother. Can you focus?_

_A-a little. Everything is hazy and most everywhere hurts. But I remember being rescued. _

_Okay. We'll go from there._ Fitz lifted his hands, waving everyone else back. _Can you relax?_

_Yes_. He settled slowly back down, resting his head on a rock._ This does hurt more though. Is Biana there? I can't smell her._

Fitz jerked his head toward the exit, motioning for the other dragons to leave._ No. She and your mom left to get lady things early this morning._

"I see." His voice was gravelly and worn, but it was Dex. "My mother's scent lingers. She was here recently."

"You look horrible, man." Fitz sat next to him.

Marella coated her arms with Everblaze, lighting a brazier near Dex's head with the yellow flame, and began working on healing some of the more severe wounds.

"I don't feel any better. Vespera had a Technopath invent some sort of lightning whip. It could cut through my scales and it shocked me worse than taking ten melder blasts to the head with every hit. I tried to fight back, but…" He look up at his wings. "You guys figured out what happened."

"Why don't you save your strength for when Biana and Juline get back? So you only have to explain it once."

"I'm not worried. The Everblaze in the braziers is helping me keep my strength up. I still want to sleep though."

Fitz nodded. "Okay. You rest. I'll see if I can handle things with the dragons."

* * *

It didn't go well. Most of the dragons knew who he was and had chosen to judge him purely on his last name. There were only two of them who considered him an ally, even if they didn't trust him. The real Mulraym, not his son. This dragon was small compared to his peers, about twice Biana's size at the shoulder, but it seemed he had chosen to stunt his growth to allow himself to stay lean and fit. His scales flashed between red, orange and yellow, giving him his title, Eternal Flame.

The other was Kesler's grandfather, the clan's leader. He had given his name as Ceindrin. His opinion was enough to silence the youngers' dissent, but the older dragons refused to drop the matter.

Fitz wasn't only there because dragons were polite enough to not talk about him behind his back. So they asked him to attend and said it in front of him without involving him in the discussion. Kesler wasn't allowed to attend because his opinion on the matter was 'biased'.

He didn't know any names besides the two he'd been given, so he was distinguishing by scale colours. The dragons that supported him were Ceindrin and Mulraym, along with a blue-scaled female, a white or cream-scaled dragon (the distance made it hard to tell), a red male, and the large green-scaled dragon that Kesler had said was his cousin.

A gentle tendril brushed against his mind. Initially, he flinched, then realized it was Biana.

_You scared me there._

_Sorry. I'm back. Everyone's gathered and we're waiting for you._

_I'm coming. Can you identify yourself when you contact me please? In a clan full of dragons, I'm a bit worried about some of them trying to read my mind or memories. Fitz stood and left the room unnoticed. He followed the tunnels toward the surface._

_Of course. I sometimes feel a few more curious and daring minds attempt to probe mine. None of them have succeeded as of yet._

Fitz mounted the last few steps. Biana was curled up next to Dex in her dragon form. Linh, Marella and Tam were playing a version of dodgeball/tag with their respective elements. Marella never stayed 'it' very long.

"Alright, let's get down to business." Fitz sat cross-legged next to Dex and Biana's head. "Keefe, if you starting singing, I'm going to kill you."

He laughed. "Nah, that joke's old." Keefe stood and walked over to them, sheathing his whittling knife. Linh plopped down in his lap, breathing hard. Tam and Marella chose their seats, Tam hovering on a cloud of shadow.

Dex rolled his head upright. "It is good to see you all again. I can't really tell you all of what happened, but I can tell you the important things."

"How did you survive?" Tam asked.

"I was kidnapped a few days before my supposed death. They had some sort of spiky fruit and stabbed my hand with it. It grew into an exact version of myself with all of my traits and most of my memories. But they only live for a few days, so the fake me killed itself. I was hundreds of miles away by then.

"Vespera knew more than she let on. We may have destroyed her facilities, killed her armies and left her crippled, but she still has her mind. They kept me in heavy metal chain the entire time, surrounded by ogres and under a thick screen at all times. No fire whatsoever was allowed near me. When I was transported, since they couldn't leap me, I was put in a tightly sealed wagon with at least six ogres. It was always pitch black. I was only allowed out at night and only given a modicum of freedom during a new moon.

"It took them a very long time to break me. At first, I was still in control of myself, but fear took over and I couldn't think anymore. It was instinct over thought."

Biana gently nuzzled his neck, crooning softly in Ancient Draconic.

Fitz fiddled with his wedding ring, sliding it up and down his finger. "Did you see or smell anything that could be concerning?"

"No. Other than the electric whips, it was pretty normal Neverseen brutality. Lady Gisela wasn't there though. I saw her on the journey there, and then she left and never came back. They said she'd deserted, but I think she was killed. What are you planning to do now?"

Keefe sighed. "Well, you're staying here until you're fighting fit again. That could take

several months. None of us are sure what to do and it seems like the Council have turned against us. Councillor Emery, along with unknown accomplices, attacked us, kidnapped Biana and almost got the rest of us, except for Marella. So if we go back to the Lost Cities, we could be putting our children in danger. I say we stick with the contingency plan and stay out of sight."

Fitz nodded. "Aye. I agree."

Linh tossed a ball of water back and forth. "I don't like leaving my daughters with Cassius, but even if he's strict with them, he is a member of the Black Swan. He's required to look after them and he doesn't exactly trust the Council anymore either."

Biana rumbled her agreement.

Tam shrugged. "That's fine with me. As much as I love my nieces, their well-being isn't my concern in this context, so whatever you decide is fine."

"So we're decided? Go back to our homes, Dex and Biana staying here, and wait?"

There was a general assent.

"Okay then. Now we wait."

**The next chapter should be a lot shorter and out a lot faster. Again I'm so sorry about the wait!**

**Before you leave, please drop a review below! Reviewers on the chapter will get a teaser from the next one! (If you don't want a teaser, just let me know.)**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	14. How do you solve a problem like Maria?

**Uploads are going to be much more regular now that I'm through that beast of a chapter. Here's something more lighthearted for you.**

Maria tied her hair in a knot at the back of her head. She felt the axolotl wriggling in her pocket and grinned. Her first day of Foxfire would be fun.

"Girl, are you ready to go?"

Her mood soured when she heard her grandfather's voice calling her from downstairs. She hated living with him in Candleshade. He wouldn't let her do anything fun. She had to behave all the time.

"Yes, Grandfather." Her sister Natasha called back, grinning as she rolled up a deflated whoopee cushion and hiding it into Maria's hair, pinning the flaxen strands around the makeshift donut.

"If you prank someone on your first day, you are grounded."

"Yes Grandfather." Maria answered. She covered the prank potions Uncle Dex had given her with the pencils in her pencil box. He probably wouldn't have given them to her if he knew what she was going to use them for, but he wasn't here.

"Ready to go?" Natasha muttered.

"Yeah. First day at Foxfire, here I come." She grinned at herself in the mirror. She was wearing the black Level One uniform, with her handsewn bookbag slung over her shoulder, armed to the teeth with everything she needed to start Foxfire with a bang.

Maria ran to the vortinator. "Leapmaster!"

Her grandfather was waiting. He looked like a prissypants.

"Make sure you behave yourself. I want to hear nothing but good things from your teachers. You are not allowed to receive detention for the first week."

"Yes Grandfather."

"You will pay attention in your classes."

"Yes Grandfather."

"And don't you dare replicate the Great Gulon Incident in any way shape or form. Do you understand me, young lady?"

"Yes Grandfather." Maria sighed and yelled, "Foxfire!" The crystal descended and she stepped into the light.

She'd been to Foxfire before, so when she landed, she knew what she was going to see. She was disappointed when she didn't see two redheads bouncing toward her in the crowd, but her cousins probably weren't in the Lost Cities at all.

That just made this easier.

She was acquainted with a few people already. Not many, but enough. As a blonde girl came running up to her, Maria slipped a hand into her pocket and grabbed hold of the axolotl.

"Maria! I'm so glad I caught you before class! Do you know where your locker is?"

"Yeah. I think we're near each other." She tipped a little water onto the axolotl from the vial also in her pocket to keep its skin moist and for maximum sliminess. "Do you want to see something cool I found?"

"Yeah!"

She waited until two other girl had gathered around to see what she had and pulled out the axolotl. "Isn't he cool?"

Of course, since none of them had any tolerance for anything slimy or icky, all of them screamed. The one with brown hair, her name was Lily or something, kept screaming and flailing her arms around, so she became the target. Maria thrust the thrashing amphibian into the girl's face. "It's really cool, huh?"

"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" The girl burst through the crowd, running as far away as she could. They'd drawn the attention of most of the other Level One students along with a lot of Level Twos and some Level Threes.

Maria laughed and waved the creature around. "He's my new pet. Do ya like him?"

Most of the surrounding students screamed. She'd been expecting the girls to scream, but most of the boys too? This was fun.

"Alright what's the problem? What is all this ruckus?" Magnate Leto was making his way through the crowd of terrified eleven-year-olds, trying to find the source of the fuss. Maria grinned and deposited the creature under a convenient bush. The water stain didn't show in her all-black uniform and all she had to do was sneak up a tree and come down a different one some fifty feet away. A gnome scolded her for stepping in a flowerbed, but she was away scot-free for now.

She made her way to her locker, which was nowhere near anyone she knew at all. Lucky for everyone, the DNA strips tasted like butterscotch. The small vial of water she'd kept in her pocket for the axolotl was set on a shelf and she selected some of the potions she'd carefully labeled late the night before.

Glancing around, she noticed most of the students were still outside. Yay. She took out a small cloth and rubbed a little bit of all three of the elixirs on it, giggling quietly.

Nobody had filtered in yet, so she set to work rubbing the cloth onto the DNA strips of the lockers around hers. She could see they were tampered with now, which was helpful for making sure she didn't miss any, but she'd tested it on her grandfather, much to his annoyance and it dried completely clear, odorless, and tasteless. Pointless and laughable as a prank, one would think. But come lunchtime, it would be her laughing.

Her work done, she set the now-empty vials in her locker and closed it. No one would have any way to prove it was her. She looked like the model student, even early to her first class.

Elvin History. It was time to behave for an hour or two. But oh, would her name be remembered alongside her father's as a legendary prankster.

She walked into lunch with a huge grin. Elvin History was probably going to be her top class. Her teacher had been fascinated to learn she was the daughter of Keefe Sencen, legendary hero. So the period had been spent with her teacher quizzing her on her father's feats, which she would take over lectures any day.

The only people willing to talk to her now were older students who had been friends with her cousins and even they decided they didn't really want such a younger student around without her cousins to run interference. But none of the Level Ones were willing to be anywhere near her, except for the ones who had arrived late or hadn't see that morning's bit of fun.

Sitting alone was fine with her. She picked a corner that was slightly elevated so she could watch the chaos.

The elixirs she'd rubbed on the DNA tester weren't harmful in any way. They wore off after four to six hours. Unfortunately for her victims, it hadn't been four hours yet.

It started with a Level One boy jumping up from his seat and screeching, clawing at his throat. She grinned.

The boy almost tripped over the bench he had been sitting on and yelled, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT FOOD?"

Some of the other students got curious and took small bites. All of the ones she'd gotten immediately jumped up from their chairs, yelping and screaming. Some of them knocked their tray over and the student still in line started choosing food more gingerly.

The students who weren't Level One or whose lockers were fortunate enough to be farther away from her were fine. So it was a horrible game among the rest of the Level Ones to figure out who was got and who was not.

Maria sat back and smiled. When she'd gotten sick once and Elwin have given her a mix of three elixirs that had fuzzed and foamed in her mouth when she drank them. He'd told her they would help boost the immune system, but she wasn't allowed to eat anything for six hours or until she was absolutely certain it had worn off. This mix coated the tongue and throat and made all food taste absolutely horrendous. Totally rotten. Horribly disgusting. It also changed the texture of some foods, making them slimy and weird.

And now her classmates were finding this out. They'd be fine. In fact, she was doing them a service. They'd be healthier for it. But unfortunately for them, she'd done it before lunch.

Maria left her tray and silverware with the other dirty dishes and slipped out the door quietly, leaving for her next class, the undetected faux model student.

Then because the universe hated her, karma hit in the form of the brunette girl she'd shown the axolotl to earlier. Right behind her was Magnate Leto. And the girl, what was her name? Oh well, she's Lily now. Lily recognized her immediately, jabbed a finger in Maria's face, and yelled, "It was her! She's the one that had the weird lizard thing!"

Since there was no worming her way out of this one, she may as well own up to it. "It's an axolotl. And they're really cool. They can curse people by reversing their tastebuds. That's what happened to all those people. Don't worry, it wears off after a few hours. They'll be fine"

"See me in my office during study hall, Maria. Go to your next class, both of you." Magnate Leto sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. He probably knew she was making it up on the spot, but Lily believed her.

"You're not gonna do anything about it?! What if she cursed me with that weird lizard thing? What if-"

"It's an axolotl, Lily. They're way different."

"My name isn't Lily. It's Leilani."

"Whatever." Maria shrugged and skipped off toward where she thought her The Universe class was.

After getting lost a few time and needed directions, she stumbled into the classroom, still on time, and realized her teacher was late. Grinning, she pulled the whoopee cushion out of her hair, inflated it, and set it on the chair. As she'd been promised, it vanished with only a slight, shimmering outline.

Her teacher was apparently taking their sweet time, giving her enough time to pin her hair up in a bun and make it look like nothing had happened.

Even after the teacher showed up, The Universe class was iffy. With all the time her parents, aunts, and uncles spent talking about it, she'd do fine, but the stars and planets were a big fat boring burger with a side of snores. She just didn't care.

Nobody knew she was to blame for the elixir so the glares directed at her were purely for that morning. Which she was okay with. There were fewer glares as she rose in the pyramid and the students she saw were higher Levels. If any did recognize her, it was because of the uncanny resemblance she bore to her father.

Magnate Leto was waiting for her when she got there and sat down.

"What am I going to do with you, Maria?" He sighed, shaking his head slowly. "Your first day. I was hoping that for once, I could have a peaceful first day of school. I've been principal of this school for over twenty years and not once, not once, have I had a peaceful first day of term. First the…what did you say it was?"

"The axolotl?"

"Yes, the axolotl, then what happened at lunch, which I'm assuming is your fault, regardless of whether or not you actually cursed people, something clearly happened, and your Universe teacher told me you put something on his chair."

"It's called a whoopee cushion. It makes it sound like you're farting when you sit down."

"So tell me, Maria, what am I going to do with you?"

"Well, my grandfather said I'm not allowed to get detention in my first week."

"No, detention's not quite enough for you. I'll let you off for today, and today only. I need time to think about this. But if you are going to meet your grandfather's requirement, I expect model behavior. Early to all your classes, being nice to the other students, always turning your homework in on time. If you are a model student for the rest of the week, I'll save your punishment for the end of the week. But may I ask, what was the purpose of your pranks?"

Maria grinned. "I have to live up to my dad's legacy somehow."

He rubbed his temples. "Your father kept his pranks to reekrods in my desk and other such things. The only time his pranks affected the entire school was the Great Gulon Incident, which I was not here for. If you are attempting to claim his title as Foxfire's greatest prankster, please keep them to a smaller scale."

"Okay."

"You're dismissed. But I will be talking to your grandfather about this. So you will be getting whatever punishment he deems fit."

"Yes, Magnate Leto."

For any other student, walking to study hall from the principal's office would be the ultimate walk-of-shame. Maria grinned like a maniac the entire time. When the other student turned and whispered as she walked in, she made sure to stomp her feet a little louder than strictly necessary, scrape her chair against the floor a little more than she needed to, and take out her books just a bit more loudly than she had to.

The teacher glared at her. She grinned back. Life was good.

Once school was out, no one wanted to talk to her. She'd spent all of study hall doing her work, but just a little too loudly. Still technically quiet, but loud enough to grate on everyone else's nerves.

Her grandfather was _furious_. For all the times she'd screwed up, she had never seen him this angry.

"YOU HAD ONE CHANCE! ONE CHANCE!"

"To do what?"

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO FIX THINGS! REGAIN OUR FORMER STANDING! NOT FOLLOW IN YOUR FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS!"

"I was?"

"DON'T BACKTALK ME, YOUNG LADY!"

Maria let him yell and rant. She wasn't concerned. Her parents weren't leaving her here forever. They'd be back and he'd be back to a strict, low-contact rule. But two years was a long time. She knew this was a plan meant to keep both her and her sister and her parents safe. But whatever they were doing, it was probably really dangerous. She hoped they were okay.

**Don't forget to drop a review before you go! Reviews get a teaser for the next chapter! (Just let me know if you don't want one.)**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	15. The End of the Search

**We're getting to the big reveal!**

"Finally." Fitz unlocked the box containing the leaping crystal. It had been two long years since they had chosen to lock it away and finally now they could find out where it led.

So many things had changed. Maria had started Foxfire with a racket. Jolie was thirteen and in her last year of middle school. Amy had told him she was enjoying her new half homeschool, half private school schedule. The quintuplets had blended perfectly into Irish life, retaining their one identity when they went into town with their great aunt/grandmother.

He hadn't heard anything from Ry. Ro had sent him a single letter to confirm that he was fine and adjusting well. That was three years ago. Ogres weren't the types to send unnecessary updates, so he was probably fine. Hopefully his pyrokinesis wasn't out of control.

Tam stopped next to him. He was wearing human clothing, as was everyone else.

"This is it." Keefe whispered. "We finally find out what Sophie's big secret was."

Fitz watched Biana pick up the crystal. He glanced around, making sure they were alone this time and knowing the others were doing the same. Empty wind blew around the cliffs of long-abandoned Cliffside.

"Are we ready to do this, guys?"

Biana stepped forward, pulling them all into the light and they were whisked away.

When they landed, they were in a rickety, abandoned cabin. The walls were falling down, the floor only existed in some places, and there was no glass in the windows. There was a pine forest surrounding them and the air was thick and muggy, but smelled surprisingly fresh and piney.

Keefe voiced all of their thoughts. "Well, this is anticlimactic."

Tam agreed with him. "What is so important about this place that its location would be Sophie's last words?"

Biana glanced around. "Maybe this isn't it."

They all looked at her.

"Remember when we were reading Harry Potter? In the Muggle world, the wizards had designated Apparation spots that were hidden away. Maybe this is like that. A safe light leaping spot for when whomever that broken crystal belonged to needed to come here."

Fitz tested the rotting door. "This thing's pretty permanent and it's been used a lot, but not recently. Look at the floor. The breaking and more worn parts make a direct line to the door and these hinges have been replaced to keep the door working. But"-he tried the door again and opened it- "the door was pretty solidly stuck."

Tam walked over to him and examined the hinges. "You're right. And the main support beams have also been replaced, as well as parts of the floor. Somebody wants this thing to stay up."

"So let's go find out why."

They filed outside. The forest was lit and open, with gaps of sky between the pine and fir branches. There was a definite path and dirt road leading away from the clearing. The road was packed down with tire tracks, but from the branches and holes in it, had not been used in some time.

"It seems pretty simple. I guess we follow the road?" Tam said.

Everyone agreed.

It was not that simple. About two miles in, the forest turned into desert. Hot, flat and dry. There was sagebrush and cheatgrass everywhere. The dirt trail was growing harder and harder to follow. After another half-mile or so of desert, Biana glanced around and declared, "There's no one out here. I'm just going to be lazy and fly all of us. It's hot and dusty and there's bugs everywhere. I would like to get out of this as soon as possible. Agreed?"

Again, everyone agreed. Biana shifted fully into her dragon form.

A turquoise-teal light surrounded her form and expanded, dissipating as it went, revealing a graceful blue dragon, about six feet at the shoulder. Her eyes, now the brightest shade of teal possible, had shifted to a slit-shaped pupil. Every diamond scale tapered to a delicate point that slotted in between the two scales below it. Her wings were much larger than they were in her elvin form. Each flying arm was massive, with corded muscles showing through the scales.

They took up their war posts out of habit. Fitz and Tam grabbed each other's wrists and hung on either side of her neck near her shoulders. Keefe lifted Linh onto Biana's back and sat behind her, gripping with his legs for lack of a saddle.

The dragoness spread her great wings and took off. Fitz felt the immediate strain in his right arm as his feet left the ground and Tam's grip on his wrist was the only thing to keep him from plummeting.

The next fifteen or so miles of desert passed by in minutes under the power of Biana's enormous wings. She smelled a town before they saw it and landed. After they had dismounted, she shifted back.

The road had become asphalt now and there was a green road sign some quarter mile in front of them. A brief run later, they reached the sign.

Fitz read the sign aloud. "Blood Creek, one mile. I can't remember where I've heard that before, but I know it's important."

"Same here." Keefe stared at the white lettering.

"Does anyone else remember what that means?" Fitz started at the white letters.

Linh shook her head. "I am brain dead from lack of sleep lately."

"So am I." Biana murmured. "And feeling a bit sick."

Dex shrugged. "I don't know what any of you are talking about."

Tam sighed. "It's in the address Sophie gave us, remember? 6369 Sky Country Road Blood Creek, Montana, 30781."

The memory flooded back and Fitz pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh yeah. I remember now. So now we need to find the street, then the house number."

A truck heading into the town pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. The driver lowered the window and called, "You kids lost or something?"

They glanced over. Tam answered, "Yeah. We're trying to find an address but our ride ditched us."

The older man, he looked about fifty, glanced around, as if testing the story's credibility. "I should have room for all of you, if you don't mind a squish."

* * *

"Here y'are. Hope y'all find what you were lookin' for." The man rolled up the passenger side window and drove away.

Fitz stared at the tarnished bronze numbers. "Six-three-six-nine. This is it. This is what was so important to Sophie that it was her last words."

They all looked at each other. Tam ventured, "So who's going to ring the doorbell?"

They shared glances again. Keefe sighed, taking his wife's hand. Biana and Dex leaned into each other.

"You guys know that if we stand around, no one's going to do it, right?"

Fitz took a few shaky steps toward the raised porch. "Yeah, Tam, we know." He walked up the three steps to the door. "It's just nerve-wracking."

His hands were shaking. He stared at the small piece of plastic.

"Fitz, just push the doorbell." Biana's voice showed she understood, but was a bit fed up with his stalling.

He squeezed his eyes shut and pushed the doorbell. Expecting give, his finger hit the wooden siding next to the doorbell. Fitz shook out his hand and actually pushed the doorbell.

He heard an older woman yell, "Somebody get the door please!" along with complaints along the lines of "Why can't Bee do it? I'm busy!"

Running footsteps came up to the door and it opened. A young woman in jeans and a faded button-shirt set one fist on her hip. She had stick straight blond hair that gave a sharp contrast to dark brown eyes.

Fitz stumbled back, trembling slightly, eyes wide. "_Sophie?_"

**Sorry not sorry. Please review! I absolutely love reading them and will respond of you have an ****account.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	16. Revealing the Past and Present

**Another big chapter. 9600 words this time. Real beastie. Hopefully this answered most of your questions you no doubt have. Also, be prepared to be mad at me.**

The girl in the doorway sighed, leaning against the frame. "No, my name is Sophi_a_ with an _a_ at the end, not an _e_. I'm gonna cut y'all some slack since you're probably some relative I've never met, but seriously, my name is Sophi_a_ not Sophi_e."_ Then her expression changed when her eyes landed on the pin at Fitz's throat. He reflexively reached up to cover it when he realized she recognized it. Her hand went to her hip, shoving her shirt aside, and wrapped around the grip of a pistol in her belt.

"What are y'all doin' here?" From her expression, she probably didn't care for an answer. "Now everybody back up nice an' slow."

Once everyone was at least two feet away from her, she pulled the handgun out of its holster, leaving it hanging by her side. "Mom! Lemur dance!"

The inside of the house went quiet for a few seconds, then heavy footsteps came from the left and an older woman, probably the one Fitz had heard yell earlier, joined the teenager in the door.

She was clearly the mistress of the household. Her thick red hair was in two braids that hung under her cowboy hat, arms crossed over a faded red patterned button-down. There was a pistol grip poking out from her jeans that were tucked into old, worn cowboy boots. Her face paled when she saw Fitz's clothing, making the freckles dusted over her nose and cheekbones stand out. Then she stepped in front of the younger girl.

"I told y'all if you didn't leave my family alone, I was gonna put a bullet in your heads. If your Council think they're so smart to send a wolf in sheep's clothing like this, they are dead wrong. Now get off my property before I shoot all a' ya."

Biana recovered her wits first. "You…know about elves?"

"Dang right I do! And the last time I saw 'em, I put a bullet in somebody. Squealed like a stuck pig and bled like one too. Took a week for the bloodstain to wash out man driveway."

Fitz moved his hand off his pin to reach for his dagger. The woman froze.

"You're a Vacker." It wasn't a question, but Fitz nodded anyway. "'Fia, get your dad. I don't care what he's doin'."

The blonde girl nodded and left.

The redhead marched up to Fitz and he realized just how short she was. He knew he reached just above six feet. The top of her head didn't come level with his shoulder. "Now you tell me straight up, boy. Are you Fitz Vacker?"

He nodded dumbly, not questioning how she knew his name.

She stepped back, hauled back one arm and slapped him across the face before she stomped inside.

Fitz stumbled back, hand going to his cheek. Keefe stepped up behind him, keeping him upright with one hand on his shoulder.

A man's voice came from inside, attempting to calm the older woman down. It had a familiar lilt to Fitz's ears, but time and a now-unfamiliar accent made it difficult to recognize until the owner came to the door. "I'm sorry about my wife, she's twenty pounds a spitfire in a five…pound…bag." The man's voice trailed off.

Dark, messy waves shoved under a faded cowboy hat. Happy cobalt eyes. Square jaw. A face he knew.

"_ALVAR_?"

He was older and clearly different. All traces of his arrogant persona were gone. His eyes were on the ground and he looked scared. The scars on his face and neck had faded to thin white lines. Like the other two, he carried a gun on his hip. He was very clearly a different person.

"I should've guessed she'd tell you eventually."

Fitz lunged forward, intent on socking his brother in the jaw. Alvar's hand snapped up and caught his wrist. "I'm guessing Sophie didn't give you all the information, did she."

If Fitz were an Inflictor, Alvar would be passed out from the pain. "My wife is dead." he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Oh." Alvar let go of Fitz's wrist. He looked genuinely crushed at the news. "Then I should probably explain everything. This house, my family."

"That would be nice."

He stepped past Fitz and closed the door. "We're taking this out to the barn. I know all of you can swear and punch and I'm not letting my four-year-old learn that kind of behaviour." Alvar stepped around Biana and led them out to the old, worn down, red barn. The inside looked well kept-up and there were five or six horse stalls along one wall that were open to a pasture. "I'm going to start at the beginning and you're going to let me finish."

Biana had scales creeping up her arms and her canines were in danger of puncturing her lower lip. "You sound like Dad."

"Do I? I didn't realize it." Alvar sighed, leaning against the half-wall of a horse stall and scratching the palamino's ears. "That red-haired ball of spitfire is Annie. We met when I was fifteen. I was looking for Sophie and leapt into the middle of that pasture there by accident." He pointed out of a hole worn in the old boards. "I spooked the cows and they stampeded. Out of guilt, I helped her round them up. She thanked me for helpin' her, said I was good with livestock. Asked me if I was thinkin' of signing up for the rodeo up in Helena. She thought I'd be pretty good at calf-roping. I said sure, but I didn't know how. She offered to teach me. We set a date and I left."

"I was captivated. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to meet her again, I should tell Dad, I should have her memory washed. But instead I had a crystal carved and met her two days later and she taught me how to rope cows. She didn't ask any questions I had to lie to. Just my name. That was it. Then she asked me what style of saddle I preferred and if I needed someone to trailer my horse. I just stared at her. She realized I didn't actually know how to ride, so she cleared one day a week to meet me in the barn and teach me how to ride.

"I knew it was stupid. But I cleared that day too, made my excuses and met her every week and she taught me how to ride. She introduced me to her parents, who showed me how to sign up for the rodeo. After a month or so of riding lessons, Annie signed us up for the rodeo and we won second place. It was exhilarating." Alvar sighed, staring out past the horse's ears.

"We continued seein' each other. I snuck out way more frequently than I should have and got caught by Biana. She was…three I believe. And of course she told Fitz and they were going to tell Mom and Dad, but promises of gettin' to try human candy and a couple jelly beans had them satisfied."

"You bribed us with candy?! To save your tail?!" Fitz kept his anger under control by the loosest ties.

"It worked, didn't it? You guys got to try all sorts of things, soda, popcorn, chocolate, gummy bears in return for silence. Although I really think you both forgot in a week and just accepted all the extra sugar you guys really didn't need.

"Sometime during the time between Level Six and Level Seven, our relationship changed from platonic to romantic. Our going out from drinks on Saturday nights became dates. Riding lessons turned into staring at her back end when I should be keeping my back end in the saddle. Driving lessons became making out and watching the stars in the back of her old pickup truck. Oh, I also got my driver's license during that time.

"Anyhow, when I moved to the elite levels, things got tricky. I told her that I was going to an elite boarding school, which was true. She taught me how to use a smartphone and I bought one for myself. I don't know how I had cell service in the Lost Cities, but I did. We did a lot of texting, calling, and video chats. I snuck off to see her at midterms and during the summer.

"By the time I'd graduated and turned eighteen, my double life had blended a bit. Mom and Dad knew I was seeing someone, Annie knew I was from a wealthy and important family. But that year, I made the best decision of my life, and the worst decision of my life." He sighed. "This is the part where it gets illegal."

Fitz was in shock. All he could do was absorb the information. His brother had been in a hidden romantic relationship with a human since he was in Level Five. Now this was the illegal part?

"I asked Annie to marry me."

Oh. That was very illegal.

"When I asked her to marry me, I said that I had a lot of important stuff to tell her and that she should listen to what I had to say before she answered. And I told her everything. That I was an elf. What I could do. About the Lost Cities. The fact that I was breaking just about every law elves have. She knows absolutely everything. I explained to her how pathfinders work, how our abilities work, Vanishing. I told her that if I was rushin' things, if it didn't go well, I could have a Washer erase her memories and leave her alone. I could do it right now. She said yes anyway. That was the best decision of my life.

"The worst happened when I went out drinking the night after. I was beating myself up for being so stupid. How could I do that? I would be caught for sure and break her heart. Well, long story short, I drank too much and accidentally told Fintan about Annie and how I was terrified for her. He told me that he had a way that we could be together legally. I was ready to take it until he told me what I had to do. I said no. I wasn't going to spy on my own father and pass on information to them. Then he told me that if I didn't, he would tell the Council about Annie and I.

"I learned from Dad's treatment of Mom that you should do anythin' for love. So I joined their order out of fear and to protect my fiancee. That was the worst decision of my life."

Fitz's brain short-circuited. Alvar had been blackmailed into joining the Neverseen. The choice that destroyed his life hadn't really been up to him.

"I tried to give them false information. I did my honest-to-God best to lie to them. But every time, Fintan would dangle that threat above my head and say it would be _such a shame_ if he were to _slip up_ around the _wrong person_. So I told them. I really had no choice And every night I went to Annie and cried. She knew everything, of course. All about the Neverseen and the Black Swan, Project Moonlark. If I knew, she knew.

"We got married the spring I was nineteen. That was the best day of my life." Alvar sighed, eyes flicking up to the rafters as he remembered, then back down to them as sorrow clouded his features again. Then the last thing I expected happened."

Keefe crossed his arms. "After all that, how surprising is this going to be?"

"Annie got pregnant. It was a total accident. Fitz was nine. Biana was seven, I believe? And I was going to be a dad. It was…mind-blowing. But now I had even more reason to stay a member of the Neverseen. If Fintan told the Council now, I didn't want to think about what would happen to my wife and child. So I did what I was told and hoped it would be over soon.

"She was born around our first wedding anniversary. We named her Delilah, Della for short. I wanted to name her after Mom, but not close enough that I might call Mom by my daughter's name on accident. I was twenty, had a wife and child, and hadn't officially moved out of the house yet. Then roughly two years later, we had another baby, Adam. So now I was a father of two at age twenty-two. It was so hard not sharing the news. I wanted to tell Mom and Dad they were grandparents, I wanted to let Biana squeal over her niece and nephew. Fitz at eleven or twelve, I don't remember, did not like small children at all. So I wasn't too upset over him.

"Then you guys found Sophie. Again, I had to tell the Neverseen to keep my wife and children safe. I kept it as useless as I could. Then Fintan brought everyone in for a meeting and laid out the plan that would be Sophie and Dex's kidnapping. I tried so hard to change his mind. He told me that either I go along with his plan or he was going to turn me in for everything and set me up as the orchestrator of the Neverseen. So I obeyed. And that night I went home and just sobbed in Annie's arms. It hurt me so badly to know there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"Fintan got tied up in the Lost Cities, so Brant took charge. He wanted to burn both of them so many more times than he did. I talked him out of it so many times. Sometimes I couldn't and instead stuck my arm in the way so that he would burn me instead of them." He rolled up his sleeve, showing a myriad of faint burn scars. "Remember? I told Mom I had an accident with the ogres."

Fitz nodded mutely, anger draining away in the face of this new information.

"Fast forward another year. I have my life pretty well balanced, but I'm missing a lot of my kid's lives. Della's four, almost five, Adam's three, and I'm only there once a month at most. A lot of the time, I show up late at night, just in time to kiss Annie goodnight and go to sleep. I hated it. So Annie and I talked about it and made the decision to reveal my identity as a member of the Neverseen and get rid of one of my three lives. It hurt. Knowing that my world would likely never see me as anything more than the enemy.

"Then you guys called me up and asked for my help sneaking into Ravagog. It was the perfect opportunity, but the date you guys chose." He sighed, fiddling with his wedding ring. "That was the day of Della's first choir and ballet performance. I snuck out the night before and FaceTimed my kids to say hi and tell Annie what was going on. I had to promise my little girl I would be there knowing I couldn't.

"The looks on your faces when I said I was part of the Neverseen broke my heart. I went home and drank myself under the table. I tried to console myself with the fact that I could be home every night and see my kids anytime I wanted. Annie was pregnant again. I had everything, and nothing.

"Then Annie decided she was done with me being constantly absent from her life and my kids' lives and the constant threat of being discovered. She didn't say what would happen if I didn't break ties with the Neverseen and she didn't have to. I was done with them too. So that night, I smashed all my crystals except for the one that led here. I broke my Imparter and hauled all the cloaks and things I had and burned them. Then I stuck the pin to a board and put a bullet through it.

"That was the most satisfying thing I ever did. I was finally free of the Neverseen who had haunted me for almost a decade. I could stop living a double life. I could go to college, get a job, really be the dad my kids deserve. Oh also, Della had manifested by this time. I'd told her all about elves, that she was half-elf and that she could probably manifest. So she would spend hours on end trying to trigger her ability at age four. So she sat there, starin' at the wall, and said she would not move until she'd triggered her ability. Her dedication was adorable, even though I was certain it wouldn't work.

"Then she got me in the eye with a sunbeam." Alvar chuckled. "I could not believe my daughter was a Flasher at age four. I had been hoping beyond hope she would end up being a Vanisher since then I could train her, but nope, she's very certainly a Flasher. And the first thing she figured out how to do was manipulate the light to make it look like Everblaze." He sighed. "I come home to find her surrounded by fire, terrified that she's a Pyrokinetic, and then she starts laughin' and goin' 'It's just light, Daddy, it's just light!'

"Your daughter manifested at age four." Dex said. "Do I have that right?"

"Yep. I was just as shocked as you are."

"So if you broke all ties with the Neverseen, then why did we find you in Nightfall?" Fitz was determined to wring every bit of information out of Alvar.

"Vespera happened." Alvar wiped his eyes. "She found out what I'd done and kidnapped me." He traced the scars on his face. "You guys were right. My capture was most certainly on purpose. The shamkniv wounds are the mark of a traitor and the soporodine was so that I wouldn't fight back. They locked all my memories of Annie and my kids under a different trigger than everything else. So that when Vespera triggered all of my other memories, I would be the puppet she wanted. But that wasn't why I was tortured like that.

"It would have worked. But the trigger she chose was a song I loved that she knew I would never hear again. God Made Girls by Raelynn. It was my ringtone for Annie. Vespera forgot to remove my phone from my person when she did that. So when Annie called me, seven or eight months later, it triggered all of it and I had everything back.

"I realized I had vanished for almost a year. Annie and the kids would be terrified. So I retraced my steps with consolation gifts in hand, and," His voice trailed off and he wiped the tears on his face. "It was the most wonderful feeling to finally be reunited with my family and to meet the twins that had been born while I was gone. Annie had named them Sophia and Frederic, after Sophie and Fitz. Knowing what I'd done, it hit hard. But I wouldn't change their names for anything."

"Sophia was the girl we met at the door." Fitz whispered. "You named your daughter after Sophie."

"I did."

Keefe walked over and grabbed Alvar's wrist, then sighed and let go. "Guys, he's telling the truth. Everything he just said is true. You can't fake that much love and commitment."

Alvar smiled. "I was wondering when you guys were going to do that. I was about to ask you to to prove I was telling the truth."

Fitz reached out, forming a mental conversation between all of them. None really had to communicate with words to get their points across. Tam and Biana were hesitant to trust Alvar at his word, but he'd given them unequivocal evidence to support his claims. Keefe firmly believe him after testing his emotions.

Dex wasn't sure._ I'm not going to take him at his word after everything that's happened, but why would he lie? What does he stand to gain by lying to us? Annie is clearly human. Those kids clearly have both elvin and human traits. What he's told us matches up with a LOT of both your memories. There's no reason for him to lie to us._

_But there's no reason for him to tell the truth._ Tam countered. I agree. _It wouldn't explain the physical evidence to support him, but what does he gain from telling the truth? I don't want to take him at his word, but like Dex said, if he's not telling the truth, then where are we and why is this important to Sophie?_

Fitz sighed. _We may just have to take it. We're all armed, he's not. If he's lying, he's the one at a disadvantage. He knows what we're capable of._

_Search his memories._ Linh was the only one to be firmly against him. I_ don't like any of this. We know what the Neverseen are capable of. This could all be a ruse. Search his memories and find out what's really going on. And don't be gentle._

He withdrew once everyone had given their opinions. "I'm going to search your memories to make sure you're telling the truth. If you hide anything from me, I'm going to assume you're lying."

"I understand." Alvar leaned against the horse stall. "But I can't show you all of my memories."

Fitz growled out, "I hope you change your mind, Alvar."

His brother sighed. "We're both married men, Fitz. I think you understand why I'm not showing you all of my memories."

"Oh, yeah. Right."

Keefe snickered.

Fitz grumbled and tried to save face by diving straight into Alvar's mind. It was different with Dex and Biana supporting him instead of Sophie, but there was more mental energy to spare and draconic minds were exponentially more powerful.

There was no effort to resist them or to hide any memories. All the most important memories were at the forefront of his mind, waiting.

Fitz recognized his younger self in several of them. The first one he looked at was from when he and Biana had caught Alvar sneaking out. He hadn't seen the terrible panic they'd caused Alvar and now realized just how good of a job he'd done pretending this wasn't anything serious. It was a disturbing sensation to see the same memory through his brother's eyes.

_"Fitz, Biana, what are you doing out here?"_

_"Well what are you doing out here?" Biana was closer in height to him in the memory than she was now._

_"I have something I have to take care of. You guys need to go back to bed now."_

_Fitz crossed his arms. "We'll tell Mommy and Daddy what you're doing."_

_He hadn't realized the panic he'd caused. "Please don't tell Mom or Dad!"_

_"What will you give us then?" Both of them held out a hand. Biana grinned. "We know you have human candy and we want some."_

_"Fine." Alvar handed each of them a few jelly beans and watched them run off, satisfied._

Several flitted by of Alvar trying his best to do his homework and being interrupted by his siblings.

Dex winced. _You guys were worse than the triplets._

_Yeah, we know._

Alvar showed them a memory from his last year in Foxfire. He was talking to his father about some of his homework when he asked a pivotal question.

_"Dad?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"If I were involved with some bad people" -brief panic crossed Alden's face- "-hypothetically, hypothetically, Dad! Not real life! But if I were involved with some bad people, could I talk to you and Mom about it without fear of being judged?"_

_"Of course. You can talk to your mom and I about anything and we'll try not to be angry. Whatever it is, we'll try to understand, especially if it's something you didn't have a choice in."_

_"Thanks."_

_They continued working for a while._

_"Alvar, is there something you need to talk about?"_

_Fitz saw Alvar's need to tell Alden what was going on, what he'd gotten himself wrapped up in without knowing it. Then he saw the threats Fintan had made and Alvar made his choice._

_"No. I'm good. Could you explain this problem here to me? It doesn't make sense."_

_"Sure."_

A slightly earlier memory played after than.

_"I won't let you get away with this! I will tell my father!"_

_Fintan laughed. "No you won't. I know who you are, Alvar Soren Vacker. I've worked with your father before and I know where you live. All it would take is one 'mistake'." He showed Alvar his flame sheathed hand. "One. Mistake. And that's it. So keep your mouth shut. And I'll leave them alone."_

_Alvar's resolve was wavering. "Please. My family has nothing to do with this. Just leave them out of all this. Is blackmail really the way to win my loyalty?"_

_Fintan glared at him. "I don't want loyalty out of you. I want information. So you had better behave yourself or I won't hesitate. You've got siblings, yes? A brother and a sister?"_

_"Don't hurt them. Please."_

_"Then don't talk."_

Fitz saw and felt the crushing, aching sadness warring with his fading resolve, along with a strong love for his family.

_"Fine. I won't tell." Alvar whispered, defeated. "Just don't hurt them. They've done nothing."_

_Oh wow._ Biana whispered. _We had no idea._

Fitz summoned all the memories from the trial, Ravagog and the Vacker legacy and used his anger and hurt as a shield. _I said we wanted to see everything. Where's the rest of it?_

Alvar obliged. He pulled them through all the memories of his relationship with Annie: meeting her, his first rodeo, growing stronger as friends. He slowed down when he reached the point where Sophie had been found.

_"Annie!"_

_"Yeah?" The redhead woman looked much younger in the memory, even though she hadn't changed much._

_"I have to go, babe. I'm so sorry. I had something come up with my family. I have to fly out in a few hours. I'm so sorry."_

_"Is something wrong?"_

_"I don't know." They could see the real reason for Alvar's hurry, the fear colouring the memory. "I'll be back soon. I am so sorry I have to leave like this. I'll take you out somewhere nice when I get back."_

_Annie sighed. "Okay. Good luck. I hope no one's hurt."_

_Alvar gave her a quick kiss and ran out the back door. He jammed the right facet into his pathfinder and lifted it up to the light, leaping away before he'd come to a full stop._

Fitz was surprised. _That's dangerous._

_I didn't have time to be safe._

The memory continued.

_"Vacker! Where were you?" Lady Gisela snapped._

_Alvar ducked his head and slid into an empty seat around a large table. "Sorry."_

_"You've been late for almost every meeting!"_

_"Peace, Gisela. The information the boy provides is invaluable and he knows too much to dismiss him from the organization. Leave him alone." Fintan was toying with a ball of fire and shot Alvar an unmistakable look._

_"Fine. But if he shows up late again, I'm having him flogged."_

Dex recoiled. _Whoa, pause the memory! Did she just say FLOGGED?!_

Alvar winced._ Yeah. You guys know the Neverseen are hardcore. A lot of the things they did made me throw up. We had a few ogres at that point. If you stepped out of line one too many times, you were flogged. I toed the line as best I could. People tried to get me in trouble. I often wasn't notified of meetings I was supposed to attend until they'd started. Although to be fair, I perpetuated this view of me. This was the first time I realized they couldn't get rid of me, so I might as well make myself a nuisance._

Alvar started the memory again.

_"If that is what you feel necessary. Now, Alvar, do you have anything interesting to report?"_

_The desire to say 'no' overwhelmed him. But then he saw the ball of flame in Fintan's hands and remembered what would happen if he lied. "Y-yes. I did."_

_"Do you care to share this?"_

_He was grasping at straws to figure out how to get out of this. "Not yet."_

_"And why, may I ask, is that?" Lady Gisela snapped._

_The words were out of his mouth. He had to commit to them. "I'm meeting with my father today. I don't know the things for sure and I need to make sure the information accurate and up-to-date."_

_This excuse was accepted, but Gisela still glared at him. Alvar make a face back._

_Fintan folded his hands, quenching the flame. "If your meeting is so important, I will give you leave to attend it. I hope you are successful."_

_Alvar sighed. Now he had to come up with a meeting with his dad. He left, taking the dismissal gratefully. He checked his Imparter and noticed a missed hail from his mom. Hopefully, she could come up something._

Alvar started to pull back, but Fitz wouldn't let him. _We're not done yet. I know how tricksy you are with your thoughts._

_Did you really just say 'tricksy'?_

_Yes. I have seen _Lord of the Rings _one too many times, no thanks at all to Keefe._

Alvar chuckled directed him to a memory that was clearly treasured.

_Alvar was pulling in to the tiny parking lot of a little florist Fitz remembered seeing on the main street of Blood Creek. The worn bell rang as he opened the door._

_An old Chinese lady was sitting behind the counter, reading a book. She looked up when he walked in and promptly dropped her book onto the counter. "Alvar it is so, so good to see you!" She jumped off her stool and ran around the counter to him._

_"It's good to see you too-" Alvar's sentence was cut off by the little woman's crushing hug._

_"When have you been? You run off into the blue, no calls, no notes, no nothing! You have gotten too skinny!" She poked Alvar in the stomach. "Your mama does not feed you enough. Too skinny, I say!" She bustled into the back and returned with a lovely arrangement of roses, daffodils, hydrangeas, and other flowers. "This for you. Take it, it is gift."_

_"Thank you, Mrs. Chen. I think I'd be in trouble with the missus if I showed up empty handed."_

_"You come by little later, I send you home with a pot of chǎo má shi. You need real food, not vegetable imitation." Mrs. Chen returned to her stool and picked up her book. "Go! Say hello to your wife! Your daughter, she is five now! So big!"_

_Alvar laughed."I'll see you later Mrs Chen."_

_"Go! Shoo!"_

_"I'm going!" He left the flower shop, gingerly setting the flowers in the passenger seat. He started the car again, turning up the radio as he turned onto the main street again. Fitz didn't recognize the song until the lyrics started. Alvar sang along quietly both in his thoughts and in the memory._

_Two young people without a thing_

_Say some vows and spread their wings_

_Settle down with just what they need_

_Livin' on love_

_She don't care 'bout what's in style_

_She just likes the way he smiles_

_It takes more than marble and tile_

_Livin' on love_

_Memory Alvar sang a little louder as he turned onto Sky Country Road. "Livin' on love, buyin' on time. __Without somebody nothing ain't worth a dime. __Just like an old fashion story book rhyme; l__ivin' on love."_

_The song cut off in the middle when Alvar shut off his truck. He leaned over and lifted the flowers carefully. He saw there was no one outside as he crept up the porch stairs. With his free hand he pulled out his phone and whispered, "Shore am I glad we got that thing now. Alexa, play Remember When by Alan Jackson."  
_

_Faint guitar start playing in the house, getting louder when Alvar opened the front door._

_Annie was out of sight, probably in the kitchen. She said, "Who's that? Della, you messin' with the Alexa agen?" When there was no answer, she looked around the corner, bowl of some type of batter on her hip. It didn't stay there very long. As soon as she laid eyes on Alvar, the bowl slipped from numb fingers, bouncing on the tile and splattering everywhere. Green eyes turned glassy with tears and she reached out for him, leaning her head on his chest as he caught her in his arms._

_The amount of love radiating from the memory almost made Fitz choke up. The overwheming feeling of holding someone you'd thought you'd lost forever, knowing they were still there, knowing they still loved you. Alvar set the flowers on the kitchen table and the two of them began to slow-dance to the music, murmuring along to it through tears._

_Remember when we vowed the vows and walked the walk_

_Gave our hearts, made the start, it was hard_

_We lived and learned, life threw curves_

_There was joy, there was hurt_

_Remember when_

_The patter of little feet ran across the living room and two small sets of arms wrapped around his legs. Alvar leaned down to lift his son and daughter into his arms._

_Remember when old ones died and new were born_

_And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged_

_We came together, fell apart_

_And broke each other's hearts_

_Remember when_

_Annie let go to wipe the tears from her eyes and took Alvar's hand. She led him into their bedroom, showing him two new additions to the family. Memory Alvar couldn't stop himself from crying and real Alvar barely could, watching such an emotional moment again. He lifted his new son and daughter into his arms, the older ones hanging onto his back._

_Remember when the sound of little feet_

_Was the music we danced to week to week_

_Brought back the love, we found trust_

_Vowed we'd never give it up_

_Remember when_

_"Their names are Sophia and Frederick. For your brother, and his girl."_

Fitz snorted. _'And his girl'? Really?_

_I cannot control what my wife thinks and God help the poor fool who tries. _Alvar said. _As I said, eighty pounds of spitfire in a five-pound bag._

_Memory Alvar broke down in sobs, embracing his family. He felt his wife's tears soaking his sleeve as his ran into her hair._

_Remember when we said when we turned gray_

_When the children grow up and move away_

_We won't be sad, we'll be glad_

_For all the life we've had_

_And we'll remember when_

_Remember when_

_Remember when_

_The song ended and Alvar did his best to dry his eyes. "I though I'd lost you forever."_

_"I thought you were never coming home." Annie choked out. "That something had __happened to you."_

_"Nah. I would never leave you alone. Not by choice. Ever. I married you didn't I? I promised to stay with you, for as long as you live. And I'm gonna do it."_

_Two skinny arms wrapped around his neck. "We missed you real bad, Daddy! You were gone way too long!"_

_"I missed you too, Della!"_

_"Every day?"_

_"Every single day. How was your birthday? I missed it!"_

_"It was okay. I got a pin an' a hat like yours from Mama."_

_"That is super cool, baby girl. So, Annie sweetie, how about we get a movie? Mrs Chen said if we stopped by in a bit, she'd send us home with food, although she may just bring it herself, along with half your family. She thinks I'm too skinny."_

_"Well, you sure as 'ell aine got no fat on you. Don' know about skinny, but thin shore. What happened to your face?" Annie traced one of the shamkniv scars on Alvar's cheek._

_"I'll tell you later." he murmured in her ear. "Don't want to scare the kids."_

_"Okay."_

_Buiried in his family's embrace, Alvar took a deep breath of fresh, albeit manure-scented country air, and sighed, letting the burden he'd been carrying down. He was safe. He was home._

Fitz realized Alvar was telling the truth. There was no incriminating evidence to be found. He'd been wrong. _I think I believe you now._ he growled, pulling out of Alvar's mind.

"There's nothing there. It's all true."

Biana sighed. "Is that the end of the story?"

"Just about. There's not much more to tell. We had two more kids, their names are Bianca and David, I turned my birth fund into human money separated into various bank accounts. My kids have 'Draw Your Family Tree' assignments at school sometimes, which were always hilarious. They were certain for the longest time that Telepaths had tentacles coming out of their forehead and ears and they would grab your head with the tentacles and that was how they read minds. I cannot convince them otherwise."

Fitz burst out laughing. "They thought Telepaths had what?!"

"It gets better. They thought Sophie had feathers, Vespera and Lady Gisela were vampires, Gethen was a werewolf, don't ask where they got that one from, Bianca still thinks the Black Swan is another name for the Avengers and that you guys are best friends with Loki. Della wanted an alicorn for her birthday when she was four and didn't believe me when I said they were almost extinct. I can keep going."

Linh sighed. "So what do we do now?"

"I would like to meet everyone if that's okay." Biana suggested. "I'm assuming Bianca is named after me?"

"Yes, she was."

"Sophie knew?" Fitz whispered. "She knew all of that and didn't tell me?"

Alvar nodded.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe it just didn't feel right to her. Or, more likely, she knows exactly what happens when you get angry and didn't want my kids, her nieces and nephews, to get hurt because you were angry at me."

Biana stared at Alvar through squinted eyes. "How are you not vanishing when you walk?"

"Practice. I had to learn when I looked for Sophie originally as a safety measure. I got better at it when I was here. I also was rather clumsy, so briefly losing sight of my body proved disastrous sometimes."

Dex crossed his arms. "Why did your behavior change so drastically around the time Biana was eight?"

"Sharing memories thing, right? Or did she tell you?"

"Sort of both."

Alvar sighed. "I was afraid of painting targets on their backs. I knew the Neverseen would have no problem using any of my loved ones against me, as you saw in the memories. So I made the choice to pretend I was the odd duck in my family, that I didn't really belong, in the hope they wouldn't become targets. I'm not sure if it worked or not. But that was my best effort to contain the damage to just me.."

Fitz tried to be angry. He tried so hard to hang on to the feelings he'd believed were justified only to find he'd only heard half the story. All this time. He'd thought his brother had suddenly decided that he was too good to even talk to his siblings and shut them out.

"I cried about it for a week. I thought you hated us."

"I never hated you. It was not easy being your older brother. You guys thought jumping off the roof was a good idea because elves could levitate and clearly you could just skip all the necessary practice. But I never hated you. Questioned your choices, yes. Been fed up with your honest stupidity, yes. Wished I were a single child so I could actually get my homework done on time for once, good Lord above yes. But I never hated you. Even though sometimes I wondered if you deserved it."

Keefe's eyes widened. "They tried to jump off the roof."

"Succeeded. They only survived because I happened to be outside in the spot they chose."

Tam snickered.

Against all his self-control, Fitz felt all the bottled-up feelings he'd been keeping down since he was eleven surge to the surface and he had to fight hard to keep them from showing on his face. "I…I…"

"You don't have to say anything. I know you guys were upset and hurt and I shouldn't have done a lot of the things I did. But we can't change that now. I am honestly sorry. You don't have to forgive me, Lord knows I don't deserve it. Just please don't take it out on them." Alvar pleaded, gesturing toward the house.

Fitz sighed, gaining control of his emotions again. "How did Sophie find out?"

"She did something stupid." Alvar gave an exasperated sigh. "Annie and I go out for drinks with friends when we get the chance. I saw some creep hitting on a blonde woman, so I went over to make him leave her alone. I didn't expect her to be Sophie, or for Sophie to be blackout drunk. I did what I usually do when I see creeps hitting on girls, knocked him around and tossed him out the door. I knew she didn't have a car and there was no way I was leaping her like that. So when Annie and I went home, I brought her with us. That was a pretty awkward conversation when she woke up, but I managed to convince her I meant her no harm and sent her back."

Keefe's eyes brightened in remembrance. "Is that when Sophie disappeared and then came back with a note pinned to her dress that told Fitz to keep better track of his girlfriend?"

"Annie must have added the note, but yes."

"It was an awkward conversation when she got back. Sophie had no idea what she'd done or how she got there. Although now I know she was lying."

Alvar shook his head. "Actually, she wasn't lying. She honestly didn't remember what happened while she was drunk. She just didn't mention us. And I'm grateful she didn't."

Fitz sighed. "I remember when she asked me just how far I would go for revenge when we were out on a mission somewhere. I didn't get a chance to answer her, because we were ambushed, but I'd thought she was referring to the mission. She was probably going to tell me then, but we didn't get the chance, and after that, we never got the chance again."

"I'm sorry. I genuinely am. Is there any way I can help?"

Tam fiddled with shadows. "Do you have any information about what they might do next?"

"I separated from the Neverseen years ago, before the war was over. Any information I have will be long and away outdated. I don't know why they killed her. And I don't know who they might go after next. By the time I was able to fully cut ties, Vespera was dealing with some shady, creepy people. Like hired assassins. I was shocked at the kind of plans these people came up with and the fact that almost everyone else was nodding along. I can't tell you what they're going to do, but it's going to be big and kill a lot of people."

Keefe frowned. "It probably has something to do with the keyenlaks. This could be bad."

"What's keyenlaks?"

"It's a deadly poison." Fitz crossed his arms and sighed. "So we probably have to introduce ourselves to everyone inside, don't we."

"My wife would be much happier if you did, yes." Alvar patted his horse goodbye and lead them back toward the house.

Dex glanced around the property. "You have a nice place here."

"Yeah." Alvar grinned. "It's not Everglen by any means, but we know everyone on our street, there's plenty of room for Annie to continue her family's business, the kids can pursue their own hobbies and I can train them. There's a pub in town we love, all her relatives live here. It's not particularly comfy, but it's the life I love. I have everything I need."

"It looks similar to Cliffside." Fitz said. "We had a similar layout in the mountains on the other side of our house, out of sight."

"I'm assuming Cliffside is your house?" Alvar flicked his wrist and opened the door telekinetically. "Don't worry about using elvin abilities around my family. They all know. Annie's relatives, you'll have to be careful around. Half of them are drunks though. So don't worry if you slip up."

"Okay."

Three children were sitting on the couch watching _Lilo & Stitch._ Fitz had seen this movie way too many times.

Alvar picked up the remote and paused the movie. A teenage boy with dark hair groaned. "Daaad, why'd you pause it?"

"Family meeting. Now."

"But Daaad, we just got to the part where she brings Stitch home!" A girl about five with brown waves flopped over the couch arm.

Alvar set the remote on top of the television. "You've seen this movie several times, Bianca. You know what happens."

"But what about ohana, Daddy?"

He turned to the redheaded toddler. "Ohana means family and this is a family meeting. Please sit on the couch next to your sister and all of you stop complaining."

They obeyed, grumbling.

Alvar walked to the doorway leading to the stairs and called, "Della, Adam, Sophia, come downstairs please. We're having a family meeting."

The older woman, probably Annie, yelled from the kitchen, "If this is about y'all crazy family, I ain' comin'!"

"Annie, love, this is a family meeting and you are part of our family. If my brother is going to be calm and polite then so can you."

She poked her head out from behind the corner. "But I don't wanna."

"I'm sorry you don't want to. But you still have to do it."

She pouted, but came out of the kitchen and stood next to him.

Biana gave Annie an awkward wave and was given a death glare in return.

Alvar set his arm around his wife's waist and gestured to their group. "Kids, this is my side of the family. This is your Uncle Fitz and your Aunt Biana, my younger siblings, Keefe, -oh crap I forgot your name, I'm so sorry-"

"Linh. It's okay, we only met once."

"Thank you. Linh, Tam, and Dex. They are your relative's and I expect all of you to be polite."

They stared in silence.

Then the youngest girl spoke up. "They can't be. He don't have tentacles."

Alvar glanced at the ceiling with a 'heaven give me strength' look. "Telepaths don't have tentacles, kiddo. They never have and no, I never said that."

"But…"

He sighed. "No, Bianca, Telepaths do not have tentacles that they use to read your mind."

She pouted.

The brunet teenage boy frowned at them. "What're they doin' here now? Didn't they have plenty of opportunities?"

"No, we didn't." Fitz was painfully away that this family would have no problem putting him through the ringer to make sure he meant them no harm. "We didn't know. I-"

The youngest boy cut him off. "Where's Aunt Fifi?"

Alvar sighed. "Daniel, don't interrupt please."

"No, it's okay. Sophie won't be able to see you guys again. There was a fire at Everglen and she was caught in it. We couldn't save her."

"Oh." The children were silent.

Annie sighed, tough exterior melting the slightest bit. "Y'all actually are sorry."

Fitz nodded. "If there is anything I can do to prove it, let me know."

She grinned, making Alvar sigh. "Well, we're free this afternoon. I can call up all my relatives and drag 'em all over with food. That'll do."

Most of the kids groaned. The apparent eldest, a girl with long brown waves, said, "Mom, no matter how much you don't like them, don't make them go through an impromptu family welcoming dinner. I bet half of 'em don't speak English."

Biana smiled. "Actually, all of us can pass for human, even under close scrutiny."

"Y'all were supposed to agree. Family dinners are torture for anyone first time."

Alvar sighed. "Is there anything else that would make you happy, Annie?"

"Nope!"

"Well then, you go call up your relatives. We'll get ready."

Annie grinned and leaned up to kiss Alvar's cheek, but missed. "Why are you so tall?" He chuckled and lifted her up. Annie snorted, running to the landline phone hanging on the wall.

"I am so sorry. But Annie has decided what she wants."

Fitz found himself smiling. "Don't worry. We can handle awkward family dinners."

"Less awkward, more overwhelming." Alvar corrected. "Annie has at least twenty relatives she can call up on short notice. On Sky Country Road alone, we have her parents, her four siblings and their spouses and children, her ma's brother, his wife, and their children's families, and the old bachelor uncle who lives alone. Further into town is Abuela, Annie's paternal aunts, uncles and cousins, and the little old Chinese lady who's not related to anyone but shows up to every family event with food. There's almost certainly others I'm forgetting, but that's who will probably show up today."

Changing the subject, Alvar introduced his children, gesturing to each of them as he said their names. "My oldest is Delilah, then Adam, Sophia, whom you've already met, Freddie, Bianca, and David." The toddler waved at them.

Bianca jumped up from her seat and ran over to them. She stared up at them, scrunched up her nose, and declared, "I like 'em!"

Fitz chuckled. "How old are you?"

"I'm six!"

"Cool. You're about the same age as my son."

She grinned.

Sophia stomped up the narrow staircase, looking very grumpy. Alvar shrugged. He probably hadn't expected any better response.

"You're absolutely sure they're not here to harm us? As spies?" Delilah crossed her arms.

"No. They are here as friends. If they weren't, they probably would have killed me by now."

"That isn't reassuring."

Tam sighed. "None of us are here with the intent to harm you or you family. We didn't know you existed until Alvar told us. We are here because Sophie gave us the crystal angles and your address as her dying words. She clearly wanted us to come here and wouldn't have said anything if she thought there was even the slightest possibility we would come without peaceful intent."

Delilah sighed. "Good enough for me."

Alvar pulled off his hat, running his hands through his hair, and sighed. "I feel like there's more I should explain to you guys, but I've pretty much told you all there is to know. You're welcome to explore the property as long as you're careful, ask more questions, whatever you want."

"Your wife" -the word felt strange on Fitz's tongue referring to a human- "isn't actually calling all her relatives over for an impromptu family dinner, is she?"

"Probably not. Vent to a friend maybe, but I doubt she'd actually do that. She'll happily fill most elves full of bullets, but she's not the type to drag y'all to meet her massive family unless it's already planned or with your permission."

"Has she actually killed anyone?"

"Yes. Lady Gisela, actually. Roundabout two and a bit years ago."

_That must have been what Destiny sensed_. Biana murmured. _The timeline fits._

Keefe shrugged. "I'd wondered why she isn't showing up anywhere. Finally out of the picture."

"You're not upset?"

"No. She tried to kidnap my daughter, she's almost killed all of us multiple times over the years. I'm glad she's out of the picture."

The older boy spoke up. "I know Dad makes this mistake all the dang time and I'd rather he be the only one. My name is Adam, not Alden. I get called that every other time and it is not my name. Just so y'all know."

Fitz allowed himself a half smile. "I wouldn't be too worried."

Annie hung up the phone and walked back over to Alvar, hugging him around the waist. "Well, I guess they're okay."

"That is much better than I'd ever hoped for!" Alvar grinned. "Looks like you guys are good."

Dex squatted down in front of the toddler who had wandered up to him. He was waving tiny sparks around David's head, making him giggle. "Well, you guys have really cute kids. This little guy is adorable. He looks a lot like his cousins did at his age."

"We have cousins?" Bianca cocked her head.

"You have lots of cousins." Linh answered, grinning. "Fitz and Sophie have seven kids and Biana and Dex have a whole boatload. I've honestly lost count."

There was a loud thud on the porch outside the door. Alvar's hands immediately went to his gun before he relaxed. "It's way too late for the paper."

He eased the door open and looked around it. "Fitz, you might want to come look at this."

Fitz frowned. Alvar leaned down and picked something up, turning around to show him what it was.

"That's a dead moonlark, isn't it?" Keefe whispered. Fitz nodded.

"There's a note." Alvar carefully pried the piece of paper from the bird's bloody foot. "It's safe to assume this is a threat, with the dead bird and all, but what do they want?" He passed the note to Fitz without opening it.

Fitz unfolded the paper and almost immediately wanted to vomit.

_It is good to see you again, Fitz Vacker. As you seem to not have figured this out, I will tell you. We have your daughter Jolie being held here in our facility. We are willing to exchange her for something I need. If you do not agree to our demands, it will not go well for her._

_We know where you are and you know what we can do. So we strongly suggest you take two Glock 18 handguns, several clips of ammunition, and two magazines per gun. There is a leaping crystal included that will take you to the island where we will be waiting with the girl. If you fail to meet our terms, we shoot the girl. If you attempt to ambush or double-cross us, we shoot the girl. If you __unsuccessfully attempt to rescue her, we shoot the girl. If you do anything outside of the instructions, I think you can figure out what will happen._

_You won't be able to find us, so don't try. Give us what we want and you can have your daughter back. Fail to meet any term of this, your daughter will die. Do not think for a moment I will stay my hand because she is a child. I have spilled more innocent blood than hers._

_Vespera and the Shadeslayer_

Fitz pressed the back of his hand to his mouth and felt tears leak down his face.

"What did it say?" Alvar asked.

"The Neverseen kidnapped Jolie."

**Again, sorry not sorry. Please review! I give teasers and reply to everyone who has an account. Feel free to break my inbox. And I will answer any questions you have if you stick them in a review.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	17. The Moon-Duchess

**What is this? A chapter on Friday? What sorcery is this?**

**Well, I'm leaving later today for my sibling's First Lego League (It's robotics stuff. I don't pay attention.) state competition so I won't have wifi. So, you get it a day early! Relish your small victory. It's all you're going to get until chapter 22. (which since I'm did a prologue is actually 23 according to the website's counting.)**

Fitz rarely used his red pathfinder unless he was going to Dex and Biana's house. Today was one of those rare occasions. The Black Swan wasn't an option, so they were turning to some old friends.

"Does anyone remember which facet it is?"

"Nope."

"Uh-uh."

"I don't know."

"Not me."

Keefe sighed. "Really guys? It's this one." He took the pathfinder from Fitz and twisted it to the correct facet.

"We can't all have photographic memories, Keefe. But thank you." Fitz said. "Let's get moving. I don't know what time it is there."

They linked hands and he held the pathfinder up to the light.

It took them to a designated circle in a large courtyard. There was no true wall to the courtyard, just a circular curve where the trees ended and the domain of elves began. There were guards posted around the edge and the flitting movement of scouts in the trees. A full moon was high above them.

One of the guards yelled in fright and made an attempt to attack the perceived threat, only to be stopped by one of his fellows. The captain of the guard stepped forward and bowed. "My lords and ladies. It is a good day when you choose to return to Ilfinarugën. I apologize for the actions of my subordinate, he has not met you before and is not aware of your methods of travel."

"It is a good day when I see you again, Captain." Fitz inclined his head in return.

"You are here to see the Elvenqueen, I presume?"

"Aye, and to seek her counsel."

"I will take you to her."

In Sophie's absence, they took up a V-formation as they walked, Fitz at the point and the others behind him. Despite the fact that Dex was better suited for dealings with the elves of Adeala, Fitz often found himself a de-facto leader and he wasn't sure why.

The Elvenqueen, Tayatel, greeted them in her personal study, though she was dressed for a meeting with Ëgaeta's greatest.

"Prince and Princess," she greeted, choosing to use Dex and Biana's draconic titles. "Lords and Ladies."

"Your Majesty." They lowered their heads in return.

"You come to me for aid? You have all of my resources at your disposal."

"Aye." Fitz took a small step forward. "The Neverseen have kidnapped my daughter. They have set a ransom and terms for exchange, but I would like to rescue her if I can."

"Of course. I have a council meeting to attend that I cannot avoid. Walk with me?"

They continued talking as they walked over the ransom note left and the logistics of a rescue until a movement caught Fitz's eye.

An elf stood to the side of them on a balcony. She wore a long white dress, contrasting sharply to her waist-length black hair. Her face was young, but her eyes spoke of seeing ages born and die again, the rise and fall of kingdoms.

"Who's she?" Fitz gestured to the figure, silhouetted in the moonlight.

The Elvenqueen smiled. "She is Kenia Xyraa, the Moon-Duchess. She is one of the oldest, wisest advisors we have. She was a great warrior, but an old injury left her crippled and unable to fight. She is also a skilled healer and has saved my life and that of many of my people."

As Fitz watched, the advisor turned around and began to walk toward them. At first she looked perfectly healthy, and then they saw. The elf had a terrible limp, making her lean on her staff with every step. "What happened to her?"

"An arrow struck her leg and broke the bone. It never really healed."

Kenia stopped in front of them, resting her left leg on the ground gingerly. "You are the members of Clan Moonlark?" Her voice was soft and welcoming, speaking both of long ages past and the comfort of home, with the power worthy of her station and the tenderness of a mother. "It is good to meet you."

Fitz didn't usually bow, even when the situation called for such, but something about her seemed to demand the respect. Fitz, Tam, Keefe, and Dex went to bow and the ladies to curtsy, but a gentle hand stopped them.

"That isn't necessary, dears."

They looked up. Kenia smiled at them. "You seek counsel among the halls of the Eldar. Allow me to aid them, Lady Tayatel. I have seen what they seek."

The Elvenqueen nodded and left them, running on fleet steps down the halls.

The elf moved to walk back out the balcony and Tam and Fitz were quick to offer their assistance. She took it gratefully. "Thank you, young ones.

"You've seen my daughter? Where is she?"

The Moon-Duchess leaned one hand on her staff and the other on the balcony's stone railing. "I have not seen her myself, but the creatures of the moon have. There is always a moonlark near her. The poor thing has taken it upon itself to watch over her and relays to me whenever her location changes. I have not seen the little bird for many moon-cycles now. I am led to believe she is in the same place as the last report."

As she spoke, a black bird with a long silver tail came flying out of the woods. Kenia reached out and let the bird perch on her finger. "They know me. That is why there are so few in the Lost Cities. They are drawn here, where it is calm and they do not know war."

"Can you help us find her?"

"Of course I can." The moonlark took off again and they watched it fly away over the trees. "My purpose here is to help and I can no longer fight in wars or serve as a healer. But it is my body that is broken, not my mind. I can put it to use. It will be nice to have a dedicated goal again."

Several hours later, Fitz was watching the sun set over the forest and the night come again. He could hear the continued deliberations in the next room. Dex and Biana had been deliberating the best plan of attack with the Duchess, Tayatel, and the army commander for several hours, only pausing for rest and food. Tam, Keefe and Linh had excused themselves, citing the late hour last night and were probably the sparring field Marella sat in the armchair opposite him, asleep.

He was tired from lack of sleep, but he couldn't bring himself to rest until his daughter was found and safe.

A soft voice echoed around him, a comforting song, but one out of place, meant for the night.

_Loo-li loo-li lai-lay_

He heard the voice of the Moon-Duchess singing to the forest, lulling it to sleep.

_Lay down your head, and I'll sing you a lullaby. Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay_

_And I'll sing you to sleep, and I'll sing you til morrow._

_Bless you with love for the road that you go._

The soft, haunting voice soothed his frayed nerves, making his head drop to the armchair's plush back as she continued to sing.

_And may you need never to banish misfortune._

_May you find kindness in all that you meet._

_May there always be angels to watch over you_

_To guide you each step of thy way_

_To guard you and keep you_

_Safe from all harm._

_Loo-li loo-li lai-lay_

Fitz didn't remember the rest of the words as the song lulled him to the world of dreams.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"Well you should have done that before we left!"

"I didn't have to go then!" Keefe huffed.

Fitz didn't mean to be short with his friend and shieldbrother, but despite the restful sleep, his nerves were high-strung and he was tense. "If you have to go that bad, I can make you your own little separate cave. Otherwise, be quiet."

Keefe grumbled, but held his peace.

Fitz felt the movements of others in a hideout carved out below them. He couldn't feel Jolie specifically, but she could not be touching the floor or be on a surface he couldn't feel through, such as wood. There were some rooms he could feel the outline of, but he couldn't feel the floors.

"There are several rooms that have wood floors. There might be beings in them I can't sense."

He twisted his feet, opening a tunnel down. Biana muttered something under her breath and a glow sprung from her skin, lighting up the bare stone walls around them.

"Can you dim that a bit?" Tam asked. "I can't hold shadows as well or my night vision."

"Sorry. I have one brightness level and this is it. I can walk towards the front or the back if you want."

"Yeah that works."

"Could you guys be quieter? They may be able to hear us."

"Sorry."

Everyone went silent, following Fitz down the tunnel. Biana shut off her glow when Fitz signaled her to. He lifted his hand and shoved the rock through into the first room. The force blasted several shards into the other walls.

The room was empty. Fitz went pale. He could sense the entire room and his feet told him there should be people here.

"Biana, what do you smell?"

She took a long deep breath and coughed. "It's musty in here. It's smells vaguely like ogres, but no one's been in this complex for a very long time. It's completely empty. I can't tell for sure, but I don't know if any elves have been here before us. Jolie certainly isn't here and never has been."

"Then what's going on?" Fitz followed the rooms and halls to the entrance. "This is where the Moon-Duchess told us she'd be."

Biana walked over to a bush. "There's a blood stain over here. The dead moonlark we got with the ransom note is the one that was watching her. With a suitable illusion, it would be pretty easy to mislead it."

"So we've got nothing." Fitz felt the same numbness on the edges of his mind. "We have no idea where she is."

The numbness grew as they returned to Ilfinarugen. Queen Tayatel was devastated to find out that they hadn't been able to rescue Jolie.

The Moon-Duchess was sitting out on her balcony when Fitz went to deliver the news. The others thought it best to let him go alone.

"You didn't find her."

"No."

Kenia sighed, running her hands over her staff. Fitz took a few seconds to study it.

While it was made of wood, it was a pale cream seemingly without grain, almost the same colour as moonlight. The symbol at the top of the staff, carved into a disc of wood and stained dark, he recognized as the runes for the word 'lyanmae' which meant 'moonlight'. There were several places where the wood had been repaired over the centuries of use. It was flared at the base, carved to resemble tree roots.

"You have seen a staff similar to mine before."

"Aye." Fitz sat cross-legged on the ground. "You know Mamina?"

"We are sisters who chose different paths. I took the path of battle-maiden and she chose the arts of healing. There are others like us scattered across the worlds. My sister holds the powers of the sun as I do of the moon. She heals and uplifts those who deign to visit her, as I do, but her methods are different. I sense you have visited her before."

He nodded. "She warned me that if I didn't let go of my hatred for my brother, it would cause Sophie's death. I'm not sure whether I proved her right or wrong."

Kenia laughed, a bright, clear, fragile laugh. "My sister's predictions are powerful and too often are true. But sometimes, one doesn't not know exactly what it is she meant. What did you assume she meant?"

"That I had to let go of my obsession to bring him to justice, which I did and it did prevent her from dying once. But this had nothing to do with that."

"Then what she said was true. You let go of the hate and it saved her life once. There is a good chance she didn't look past a certain point. She does that because she does not want to tell anyone their whole future, lest they feel like they do not have a that because of how their story ends, life is no longer worth living."

Fitz stayed silent, staring at the stone floor of the balcony.

"Unless you have found a particularly interesting patch of rock, I assume you think your tale is over."

"What do I have left? I can't go home because I'll probably be killed. My daughter will probably be killed if we don't meet their demands. My wife is dead. I don't know what's happened to my other children."

"You have your friends."

"Who have the same problems as me. Our situation is hopeless."

"The only situation that is truly without any hope at all is when you stand before the devil in hell. I assume you are in a better position than that, so it is not hopeless."

"But what am I going to do?"

Kenia stood, leaning heavily on her staff with her left foot dragging on the ground. "Talk to my sister. If it is something you would prefer to do alone, I will alert your friends to where you have gone and to not disturb you."

He nodded. "Thank you."

Fitz did remember the facet on his red crystal for Mamina's cottage, deep in a strange forest. The old elf was kneeling next to a flowerbed, tending to her plants.

"I was wondering when you would be here." She stood, leaning on her staff for assistance. Unlike her sister, Mamina's staff was made of a darker wood and lacked the refined, smooth surface., instead rough and bark-like.

Mamina herself did not resemble an elf at all. If it were not for the fact Fitz had seen the long, graceful points of her ears, he would have assumed she was an elderly human. She wore long heavy wraps and headscarves, even in the heat of the summer sun beat down on them. Her glasses didn't fit her face very well anymore, but she refused different ones. Wisps of grey-white hair framed a wrinkled face.

"You knew what would happen. You knew."

"Your choices are not the only ones that affect the future. Especially hers. I saw many, many different futures and she died in most of them. You prevented her demise one time. That was not a guarantee that she would live to see her Ancient years."

Fitz tried to remember what else the old, old elf had said. "You told me when she died, I would soon follow."

"I did say that."

"I don't want to leave my children alone. I don't want them to be orphans."

Mamina trundled over to her rocking chair on the small porch of her house. "What are you doing here, lad? Do you want to yell at me for not giving you the future you wanted? Are you searching to grieve as you do not feel you can around others? Do you want to know what I see now?"

"I don't know." Fitz joined her on the porch, leaning against the wall. "I'm trying to keep it together for the sake of everyone else and to not fall back into bad habits."

"If you want to yell, go ahead and yell."

"I don't. It's just that I thought all of this was done. We fought a war because no one else could or would. We risked our lives and mental health because a few elves decided they weren't happy and the Council left a few school kids to clean up the mess they swept under the rug. I'm angry. My daughter is in the hands of the enemy right now because some moron thousands of years ago decided Vespera should be locked away instead of killed like she deserved. My wife is dead because the Council decided to ignore the Neverseen instead of looking into them and figuring out what was going on before they got strong enough to orchestrate world ending plots."

His voice rose as he spoke. "I had to learn how to kill without regret when I was seventeen and then I had to do it. I had to do things most Ancients would never dream of and then they hailed me as a hero while pretending my sacrifice was nothing. All I wanted was peace. I just wanted a normal life with Sophie. Apparently the universe thinks that's too much to ask! After everything I went through, I can't even go a decade without being plunged back into life threatening situations! Not even a decade.

"I just wanted peace, and now the person I love most is dead. I don't know how many more people are going to die and I'm probably going to be one of them. My children will most likely grow up orphans. My friends are also probably going to die and my daughter could be collateral damage. I see no way this ends well."

Mamina sighed. "I know."

"What do you mean, 'you know'?"

"I know this future. It is painful and dark. I cannot promise that all of you will survive. But for those that do, the conflict will truly be over.

"For good?"

"Yes."

Fitz sighed. "Can you tell me what might happen?"

"No. There are two equally dark futures ahead of you. You will have no say in who lives and who dies. You will only be able to respond to events around you."

"That is about as encouraging as your last prediction."

"All I said was that Sophie may choose Keefe, which in the end she did not."

"It still wasn't encouraging to my sixteen-year-old self."

"Did that ever work out for you? I've been waiting to find out what happened since you left."

"The entire elvin world threw the hissyfit to end all hissyfits. They got over it though."

"I see. I can tell you what I've seen surrounding your daughter if you would like."

"I would like that."

Mamina closed her eyes, holding her staff with both hands. "Her life does not have as many possible endings as your or her mother's. Most of the choices that will decide her life are yet to happen. The next vital choice she will make will take place within the next few days, assuming she survives the encounter. That is all I can tell you."

Fitz nodded. "Thank you." He stood and walked off the porch towards the woods. He pulled out his red pathfinder again and returned to the Ilfinarugen palace. There were several elvin children standing rank-and-file, going through several fighting forms silently. Some used elements in their blows, air and fire prevalent, but most did not.

Linh and Marella stood more to the side to give themselves room, going through the more complex versions of the same forms the elflings were doing. Fitz remembered how out-of-control they'd been when they had started their training. A far cry from the smooth, precise movements all of them had perfected.

The instructor called the end of the form and Fitz stood to attention by instinct. The children made a sharp bow and scattered, some to play games, others to their parents or to their studies. Linh and Marella thanked him for allowing them to join the lesson. He waited until they were done before walking over to greet his friends.

"You both looked good."

"Thank you." Linh pulled her hair out of its low ponytail. The silver tips were fading over time as her hair lengthened, but it now lent power to her title as Ocean Queen of Clan Seadancer.

"Have you heard anything from the capital about reinforcements?"

Marella shook her head. "Nothing. They're pretty busy this year, since this is the thousandth-year-anniversary of Egaeta's founding. They may not be able to spare the soldiers with the amount of dignitaries staying there. We may be on our own for this one. Again."

"That's not encouraging." Fitz sighed.

Linh shrugged. "But we did it on our own once and we can do it again. Just, without Sophie, this time."

"That'll be the hardest part. I'm so used to having a voice in the back of my mind warn me when I need to look out for something I couldn't sense with earthbending. Dex and Biana try to keep up with it, but they've got to concentrate on fighting more. It's not the same."

"So what do we do? Without Sophie, you're our leader." Marella twisted a braid she'd added back into her hair around one finger.

Fitz wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword. "We get ready to fight. I'm going back to Cliffside to get mine and Sophie's swords and armour. I don't need hers, but I know that Queen Emela said when and if she died, they would put her sword in the Hall of Fallen Heros."

"You go get ready then." Linh held out her hand and they grasped wrists. "We'll see you here, six hours time?"

"Aye." After repeating the gesture with Marella, Fitz reached into the collar of his tunic and pulled out his home crystal. It was in need of a polish, but it would do.

Cliffside looked exactly the same as when they left. Small, cozy, home. They didn't need a double door, so they didn't have one. Only a single wooden door in white paint that had chipped and worn away in places from the ocean winds and salt. The living room would have been considered almost poor by elven standards, but the well-loved pale blue couch, stained in a few places because kids, sat under the large window. The plush carpet was still soft under his feet, until he accidentally stepped on one of the toys that had been left out and almost fell.

The kitchen followed the same colour scheme as the rest of the house. Beautiful white marble countertops with cream accents, periwinkle cabinets with crystal handles. He could almost see Sophie laughing, covered in flour, as she baked with their daughters. Ry trying to help, but really just eating the extra chocolate or whatever it was she was adding to one treat or another. He hadn't usually joined all of them baking, too many cooks in the kitchen and all that. But he remembered early in their marriage and relationship, sometimes they'd pull a recipe out of an old cookbook and go on the adventure of trying to make it. Those had been the best nights, curled up on the couch or in bed, snuggling and eating something they made themselves.

The stairs were well-lit, thanks to the massive skylight above him. There were hairline cracks in the banisters where accidents had happened and the wood had cracked and chipped. Anyone else would have just replaced them, but Sophie had told him she liked the character they added. It had taken time for him to understand her point of view and now he was grateful for it. Remembering all the incidents that had formed the scars in the wood, all the memories he may never see again.

Upstairs had more natural wood than the downstairs. A balcony looped around the stairs with a swirling vine pattern on the railing. It used to be wrought iron with glass flowers, but after Jolie was born, they had it replaced with wood. Like the banisters on the stairs, there were small lines in the darker wood where accidents had happened. The carpet here was less plush from little feet running across it at ungodly hours because of nightmares or other childhood fears. Even so, he smiled fondly in remembrance.

The small silver key in his pocket went to the room on the far wall from the landing. He slid it into the lock and opened the door.

Neither he nor his wife had anything to hide from the world and sometimes they didn't like keeping their door locked. But every time they considered removing the lock, they remembered the host of dangerous things there. It was too much of a risk to leave it open to little hands who could easily get hurt.

The safe on the wall had only the things they wanted to keep safe. Behind a hidden keypad and fingerprint sensor on the inside of his bedside drawer were the things no one knew they owned. Fitz pressed in the code and waited for it to beep before turning around.

A hidden false panel in the floor slid out of place, revealing a stash of rather illegal items. Two swords sat on top of the pile, both in sheathes. The one on the left had a dark scabbard embellished with onyx. The right had a silver sheath with engravings down the length of it. In the middle were delicate runes that said _'If one should cause me to draw this blade, pray your blood is the purest red of my sword.'_ It had seemed violent when he'd first read it, but now he understood the weariness of the phrase; one who hated war but was forced to fight anyway.

He left the silver sword and the armour beneath it. His sword he set on the floor next to him. The armour under it probably wouldn't fit him as well as it had when he was younger. Seventeen seemed so far away now. Sophie seemed so far away.

It took everything in him to not break down there. It hurt remembering Adeala, remembering how she looked when she realized her world was not his world. The wonder on her face when she was able to airbend for the first time.

"_Fitz did you see that?" She laughed, making her eyes light up as she made a light breeze tousle his hair, laughing still. "I'm an airbender!"_

Laughing as she flew across the sky, feeling the chill nipping her cheeks. Running across the clouds to places he couldn't follow.

_"Wahoo!" She slid off a cloud onto a second, treating the mist like solid ground. Fitz had to watch from the back of a dragon. If he tried what she was currently doing, he would fall straight through. "This is amazing!"_

As every teacher had said, she took to the sky and he to the earth. They'd never truly been of the same people. Her people were in Adeala, people like her who had five or more abilities in one body, those who fought the wars everyone else couldn't. His people were in the Lost Cities. Two very different worlds.

Now she had taken to the sky never to come back down. His daughter was in the hands of the enemy. The others were far away, in a league of their own as the only elvin quintuplets, and where he would probably never see them again. His son in the care of ogres; an incredibly powerful individual in the form of a tiny boy. Biana was a warrior in her own right, stronger than he could ever be and the future Queen of Dragons. Everyone he could call family was so far above him. Even his parents, without elemental abilities, had decades of experience to sharpen their skills beyond what he could achieve with only five years of true training, no matter how intense.

He had never felt so incredibly alone.

Is this what Sophie had felt like, living in the human world with no one she could tell? The horrible emptiness of true grief, burrowing deep and leaving nothing behind.

A soft whisper on the wind caressed his ear. He didn't understand the words it said, but it was still incredibly comforting.

He let himself cry, letting the horrible grief go, hoping it would allow him to concentrate on the fight ahead.

**Well, there's a few things resolved in here. But if you haven't already figured it out, it's not going to be their story for much longer. Reviewers get a teaser for next chapter! (Let me know if you don't want one.)**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	18. The Isle of Tears

**The full chapter title is 'The Isle of Tears: The Black Swan's Last Stand', but it wouldn't let me put in the whole thing.**

**Stop. Before you read this chapter, go find a tissue box. Now. You will need it.**

The ransom note was taunting him. It had barely been forty-eight hours since they'd received it, but the impeccable handwriting was glaring at him from the page next to a temporary leaping crystal.

Nothing had come from any of the desperate searches, either on foot or in the air. The Neverseen had disappeared completely. All of their facilities and hideouts in and around the Lost Cities were completely abandoned. There was no hope left, despite what others may say.

He slid the whetstone along the edge of his sword. The rasp brought back many painful memories of war. Sitting in a thin canvas tent in a camp, not knowing if he would see another day. Next to him, Tam was sorting out the small weapons he hid in various small pockets. It was always unnerving the amount of small, sharp objects he could hide in his clothes. So far, there were as many as forty small knives, throwing stars, and tiny pinprick daggers laid out in neat squares on the floor. Tam had a small whetstone in his hand and was carefully sharpening each one.

"Is Alvar bringing the guns and ammo?"

"I think so." Tam laid another sharpened throwing star in the neat square. "If I remember correctly, he's bringing blanks instead of actual bullets. Should be here around sunrise."

"Thank you. I still want to talk to him."

"Understood. Is your knee feeling okay?" Tam stood and began returning the small weapons to their pockets

"A little. I took some painkillers and stuff for stiff joints, so I should be fine if we get tied down in a strung-out battle." Fitz decided he wasn't getting anywhere with sharpening his sword and sheathed it. "I'll go see if he's here."

The elven halls were quiet and tense. Despite efforts to keep most of it under wraps, many of the palace's population still knew what was going on and were trying not to disturb them as they prepared.

Alvar was waiting out in the courtyard. He hadn't bothered changing into elvin clothes, instead wearing the simple jeans and button-down that most of his family seemed to prefer. To Fitz's surprise, he didn't see a gun at Alvar's hip, but he'd learned from Sophie years ago that didn't mean he wasn't carrying one.

"Fitz."

"Alvar." He managed to keep his tone polite and both of them kept it to a firm handshake.

"I brought the guns. I thought it was weird they asked for Glock 18s instead of 19s, but I got them what they asked for. There's blanks instead of real bullets, so they shouldn't be able to use them."

"Thank you. Really."

Alvar gave him a wan smile. "I think I have a while to go before I've fully made up for everything. But I'm glad you're not as angry as before."

"If we rescue my daughter and bring her home safe, I might even forgive you."

"I'll wait for that. Thank you for giving me a chance."

Fitz sighed. "It's what Sophie would have wanted me to do."

"I'd love to stay and talk, but I've got to go. Bianca has a piano recital that I cannot miss." His brother gave him an informal salute and leaped away. Fitz slung the bag over his shoulder and sighed. He remembered Destiny's last prediction, two and a half years ago. Now he knew she'd been seeing Alvar and his wife and a metaphor for the struggle his brother had been facing.

A few drops fell on his head and then it began raining in earnest. He grumbled, hefting the bag higher on his back and hurrying inside.

"Fitz."

"Dex."

"We're ready to move out if you are." His brother-in-law fell in step with him. "Although I have a bad feeling about this whole arrangement. Has Amy contacted you at all about Jolie being missing?"

"No. She didn't tell me where they moved for safety reasons so I haven't been able to contact her. I don't remember if she had an Imparter or not. If she did, she probably got rid of it in case it was being tracked. So we've got no way of contacting her."

"Great. Well, we'll be going in a strong as we can be at the moment. Some other members of the Black Swan are wanting to join us. The Collective will be there, minus my mother. So we can count them in. Have you heard anything from Oralie in the past two years?"

Fitz shook his head. "From what we've seen, we should count the Council as against us. Right now, we should count out anyone from the Lost Cities who's not a trusted relative or Black Swan."

Biana brushed against his mind, asking, _Do you know where Linh's trident covers are? She can't find them anywhere._

_Well, since she'll be stabbing things soon, I don't see why she'd need them._

_With the high amount of moisture in the air, she's worried about rust._

_I see. I don't know where they are. Sorry._

"You listening?"

"Linh's looking for the covers for her trident's tines. She doesn't want it to rust."

"I see. We'll be moving out as soon as everyone is ready to go."

Fit nodded and went to his room. His sword and sheath lay next to each other on his bed. The blade had been cleaned, polished, and sharpened, glistening in the new sunlight. There was a pang in his heart when he did not see a second sword next to his, or hear soft footsteps coming up behind him in an attempt to jumpscare him.

He was really sure what he expected to see though, if he were honest with himself.

Fitz sheathed his sword and fastened it onto his belt. Everyone else was gathered in the courtyard, once again wearing weapons and armour.

"No one's wearing the, oh boy, I don't know what they're called, the face mask things that cover the nose and mouth?"

Everyone shook their heads. "We didn't feel it necessary, since they were meant to preserve our identities and the Neverseen already know who we are." Dex said.

"I'm wearing mine though." Marella pulled it up over her nose. Her voice was slightly muffled through it. "I don't want to smoke myself out."

Dex lifted the crystal and leapt all of them to an island.

It was, objectively, a very beautiful destination. It had stone paths that wound up from the shore to the peak. Along it were set stone statues in great detail, all of them of people. Fitz thought it was a sad thing such a lovely island was in the Neverseen's hands.

Then he took a closer look at the statues as they walked toward the peak.

They began to itch at him, telling him he'd seen these people before. Dex stopped and pointed to the runes at the base of one statue. "Does anyone else see that?"

"It says…Councillor Oralie." Tam knelt next to the large marble box the statue stood on. "And that's a statue of her. What is this?"

"A memorial I would think." Biana examined some of the surrounding statues. "These are all people close to us or us. Some sort of tribute to the Black Swan. That one there is Elwin."

"This is no tribute." Dex whispered, glancing around as his irises spun gold and pupils shrunk to slits. "It's a tomb."

Something at the back of Fitz's mind screamed, _GET DOWN!_

He dropped flat on his stomach and everyone else followed suit in a fraction of a second. An arrow whistled overhead and stuck in a tree. A heavy, sickly green gas flooded out from the tip of the arrows, settling around them. Fitz saw Marella surround herself in flame, attempting to purify the air around her.

Biana made a horrible choked scream, clutching at her throat. Black veins spread down her neck and over the rest of her body. Fitz felt his body filter out the toxin, and watched as all of his friends succumbed to the keyenlaks, one by one. Dex and Biana were first to fall, given their bodies higher sensitivities to arcane poisons. Then Tam, shadows around him disappearing. Keefe and Linh fell together in each other's arms. Marella was nowhere to be seen, but she was probably dying as well.

And Fitz could do nothing but watch. Watch as everyone he knew and loved died. The entire island was now tainted which meant as soon as the other Black Swan members leapt here, they would die. His daughter was probably also on the island somewhere, slowly choking and wondering why he hadn't come to save her.

"How…unprecedented." A snake-like voice slid out of the trees around the statues. "The rumours are true." A cloaked figure walked up to him. "Though one can never be too careful."

The man bent down and snapped Dex's neck between his palms. "You are immune to keyenlaks. The only one. By" _Snap_. "pure" _Snap_. "genetic" _Snap_. "chance." _Snap_.

"Whoever you are, you're insane."

"You can call me the slayer of the Dragon Prince. Or Shadeslayer if you prefer. Although, it seems you need more conventional methods." The Neverseen drew a dagger from inside his cloak. "Goodbye Fitz Vacker."

The Knife pierced his heart with a burning pain. In his last few seconds, he choked out, "You never had my daughter, did you?"

"No. Sometimes phantom bait is better than real."

The pain vanished, replaced by the feel of his wife's mind as he left the world of the living.

**Reviewers get teasers for the next chapter! (Let me know if you don't want one.) Feel feel to break my inbox and tell me what a cruel author I am. Just wait until chapter 23, my lovelies. Chapter twenty-three. To the people in the future, don't skip to that chapter. The ones in between are important.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	19. Swansong

**Well, with that out of the way, it's really going to become the children's story now. Like I said, there is a happy ending. Promise.**

* * *

Jolie sat on the stairs, eavesdropping on her aunt's conversation.

"Hey, Juline. I wasn't expecting to hear from you. Where's Fitz?"

"They left to rescue Jolie from the Neverseen along with the rest of the Collective and never came back. We don't know what happened to them."

Her aunt sounded confused and worried. "What are you talking about? I just sent Jolie up to bed half an hour ago. She's never left my care."

"Then all of then are likely captured or dead. We've sent a few people to check and none of them have come back either. So we don't know what's going on. It's like a black hole. No communication. It's like it doesn't exist."

"I'll break all links to the elvin world after I end this call, except for my emergency crystal. Hopefully this call isn't being tracked."

"You can't track Imparter calls."

"Oh, that's not a thing?"

"No, it's not a thing. Dex wanted to make it a thing, but I wouldn't let him."

"Okay. I'll leave the Imparter, but locked in my safe with my guns."

Their voices dropped lower and Jolie scooted down a few stairs and leaned forward.

"Is Fitz one of the ones missing?"

Juline sighed. "Yes. So are Dex, Biana, Keefe, Linh, and Tam. The entire Collective. Many individual members who went on their own. In fact, I may be the last member of the Black Swan alive. Lord Cassius was never able to get his cube to open."

"I'll let Jo-Jo know. Is there any evidence they might still be alive?"

"Marella was the only one to return. She said she was the only one to wear a cloth over her mouth and nose, which is why she survived. The island is covered in an airborne poison that doesn't have a cure. I set a protocol in place Dex created. It's erased Jolie from the minds and databases of the elvin world. We don't want to risk her being found. I've returned to Rimeshire with the quintuplets and they are living as one identity. I'll get back to you soon with more information."

"Okay. Bye Juline."

"Goodbye, Amy."

Jolie heard the imparter click off and her aunt sigh. She realized too late her aunt was coming up the stairs and scrambled to hide.

"Jolie, what are you doing out of bed? Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?"

There was no sense in denying it. "Yeah. Is Dad really gone?"

Her aunt sighed. "Yes. I'm sorry, babycakes. Looks like you're stuck with me."

Jolie broke down crying, clinging to her aunt's shirt as Amy pulled her up and led her to bed.

* * *

Juline rubbed her forehead as she put her Imparter in the drawer and locked it. The quints were in bed asleep and Marella had just left after delivering the horrible news. How was she supposed to tell the five girls in the other room that their father, aunts and uncles were dead?

She decided to leave that for the morning and take her own time to grieve.

When she and Kesler had let Dex leave for his apprenticeship, they had known and reconciled themselves to the fact he may not come home. When he and all of his friends had come home more or less unscathed with the news that this fight was over, she had cried in relief. It had been seventeen wonderful years with her family and later, grandchildren. It was the kind of bond only forged through the worst of hardships.

It was supposed to be over. They had won. They were done with the stupid war. She had been waiting for her husband and son to come home, for it to be safe again, only to receive the news that it was never going to happen. Her family was never going to be whole again. She had no idea what had happened to Kesler. She could only assume he was working things out with his clan and would be home when he could. At least Marella had been able to tell her he was safe.

The triplets had never gotten wrapped up in the Black Swan. They were safe in the Lost Cities right now, with no idea what had happened. Of course, they were privy to some non-classified information, such as the fact that Dex and everyone else had gone into hiding. But they didn't know they would never see their brother again. She had to tell them eventually, but for now she tucked her head in her arms, forehead against her desk, and cried for the family she'd lost, after barely pulling them together again.

* * *

Maria knew everything was about to be turned on its head. She'd been a model student for the rest of last week and now it was a new week. She could start her reign of terror once more. She fussed with her pin, trying to fasten it without sticking her finger.

"Maria, take that off. You're not going back to Foxfire."

"What?" She turned around to see her grandfather in the doorway to her room. "What do you mean I'm not going? You put all this effort into me 'upholding the family honour' and then say I'm not going?"

He cut her off. "You're not going because something or someone has killed almost every member of the Black Swan and you may be one of their next targets. You don't have a bodyguard and we cannot obtain one for you. So you and your sister have to stay out of the public eye until further notice."

"O-Oh."

"Natasha already knows. Change out of that and go to the safe room near the top of the building, the one the vortinator doesn't reach. We may have some unwanted visitors soon."

"Y-Yes, Grandfather." Suitably frightened, Maria changed with shaking hands and ran to find her sister.

Natasha was curled up in her room crying. Maria hugged her tightly and they cried together for a few minutes. Then she dried her eyes and her sister's, pulling Sha-sha upright and both of them walking to the vortinator.

"Floor 200!"

After the vortinator, it took them a few tries to find the hidden staircase. It was narrow and winding, but anyone more than a few inches taller than Maria would have serious trouble getting past the first few steps.

The 'safe room' actually consisted of two floors at the top of one of the towers. It was rather Spartan in design compared to the rest of Candleshade. Two bedrooms, a kitchen and pantry stocked with plenty of food, and hidden leaping crystals to take them to various safe houses. It was simple and hidden. The only other way to access it was with a temporary crystal with certain angles. That information had died with their father.

"Ri-Ri?"

"Yeah Tasha?"

"What's gonna happen to us now?"

Maria squared her small shoulders. "We're gonna be okay. After this blows over, life's gonna be just like it was before. We'll go to Foxfire and find out our abilities, and train and everything. We'll be okay, Natasha. We'll be okay."

She hoped.

* * *

Ry knew something was wrong. He may not have been able to see, but he could hear. There had been a lot of people running by outside his room for the past few hours. There were yelling voices and Aunt Ro hadn't come to visit him. Some orges had come and packed up his things and moved them. Whatever was wrong, it was big.

Heavy footsteps came to his door and opened it. The ogre didn't identify themselves. They just picked him up and started running down the hallway. Ry panicked, not recognizing the ogre from their armour, and struggled against their grip. "Let me go! Who are you?"

The footsteps slowed. "My name is Bo. I was one of your mother's bodyguards. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just taking you to Ro."

"O-Okay."

The ogre named Bo passed him to Ro after some time. He'd learned the difference between her and the other orges over time. Her hands had calluses in different places, her skin was softer and her armour was different. "Aunt Ro, what's going on?"

"Don't worry, kid. You're just moving to an apartment deeper in Ravagog. It's got all the same stuff in the same positions. It's exactly the same as your old one, just a little safer."

"No, what's going on? Why am I moving? What's all the fuss? I know something weird is going on and I want to know what."

She was silent. He could hear her walking along a stone tunnel, well he assumed it was a tunnel, but he could be wrong.

"Does it have to do with Papa?"

"Yeah." she said quietly. "But I don't want you to worry, okay? Marella, you know her, she's going to come train you. Like, really train you."

"I'm going to learn how to fight." Ry whispered.

She didn't deny it.

"Here's your new place, kiddo." His feet met the floor and he wobbled a little before getting his balance. "The door is right in front of you."

"It's cold down here. And hard to see."

"Sorry. The light source I have doesn't give off heat." Aunt Ro placed her and on his shoulder to help guide him.

Ry felt for the doorknob and opened the door. The walls inside were just heated enough so he could see them and he knew there was furniture around him. "There's an extra door, over there." He pointed.

"That's Marella's room. It doesn't have the same modifications as yours. She wanted to be close to you in case an accident happened while you were training. I know you've got good control, but better safe than sorry."

"Okay." He turned around, using her hand as a guide. "I still want to know what's going on. I know I'm only six, but I'm the youngest person to manifest ever and as a Pyrokinetic out of everything I could've been. This is probably a grownup problem, but I still want to know."

Aunt Ro sighed. "Yeah, it is a grownup problem. I can't tell you right now because I don't know what's going on either. Neither does my dad. Your grandma Juline told us we needed to take all possible measures to hide you, so we did. We're getting more information soon. Sorry, kiddo."

"It's okay. I understand." He hugged her tightly around the waist. "I'll wait in my room, okay?"

"Okay. Give me a few hours, but I should have something for you. Even if it's classified or against direct orders, I'll get some information to you. This is about your family. You deserve to know."

"Thank you."

Ry was waiting for several hours. He went through a few basic forms his aunt had taught him, sliding through the stances and only stumbling a few times. As Aunt Ro had said, everything was in the same place, so memory served him well.

Loneliness was not new to him, since he had no way of telling the time, but he knew when it had been longer than it should have been. He had a few books written in a language Aunt Amy had called Braille. They weren't very common, but the ones he had he enjoyed. They were thick and heavy, so he always had to set them on a table when he read.

He had worked through another chapter of Lord of the Rings when a knock sounded at his door.

"Who's there?" he called, struggling to close the large book.

"It's Marella, Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

The door opened and footsteps came toward him. It took him a few seconds to place where they were, since his ears were used to ogre stomps. "Hi Aunt Marella."

"Hey big guy." She set her hands on his shoulders before picking him up and setting him in front of her. "You're six now?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, you're getting so big. How are your forms?"

"Aunt Ro says they're as good or better as we can expect them to be. I'm trying, but without the dynamic training floor Uncle Dex made for me, it's a lot harder. But I think I'm doing good."

"Awesome. I'm gonna teach you some things I learned when I was younger. I had someone teach me how to firebend. It's like pyrokinesis, but it's a lot more powerful and you can do things that aren't possible with pyrokinesis. I want you to be able to at least hold Everblaze by the time I have to leave again. You don't have to be able to do anything with it, just hold it. I want to know if it affects your vision at all."

"Okay." Ry went to hug her, but the strange feeling under his fingertips made him jerk back. "What's that?"

"Oh. I'm wearing leather armour. That's why it feels strange. Here."

He heard a rustling sound and her arms wrapped around him. "Is this better?"

"Yeah." He wrapped his arms around her neck and set his head on her shoulder. She must have kneeled down. "What's going on? Aunt Ro said she doesn't know yet. And where's Papa? Why didn't he come?"

Aunt Marella sighed and she was quiet for an uncomfortably long time. "He's not coming back, Ry. He's gone. The Neverseen killed him and everyone else."

"N-No." Ry started crying, clinging to his aunt. "You can't be right. He must be hiding, faking it, o-or something."

"That's what I thought too, kiddo. But I checked. The person called himself a Shadeslayer and he broke your dad's neck after he killed him. He did that to everyone to make sure they were dead. I'm so, so sorry."

Ry couldn't do anything except sob in his aunt's arms, feeling her tears mingle with his.

* * *

**Well, yeah. That's happened. Sad kiddos and sad chapter. It's going to have a different feel to it from now on. Please review! Reviewers get teasers for the next chapter! (Let me know if you don't want on.)**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	20. Strength of the Earth

**A little bit of time has passed since the last chapter. Jolie is fourteen, the quints are eleven and Ry in the next chapter will be seven years old.**

* * *

"Jo-Jo, wake up." Hands shook her shoulder and she groaned, burying her face in her pillow.

"Five more minutes, Aunt Amy. I don't wanna get up."

"It's your birthday, kiddo! You have guests coming over."

"I'm getting up. Leave me alone." Jolie mumbled into her pillow.

"Okay. There's a dress and a timer on your desk. The dress is for you. The timer is because we need a little extra time to set stuff up. Okay?"

Jolie groaned, waiting until she heard her aunt close the door before she got up.

Her room hadn't changed very much from when she was eleven. Pastel walls and crown moulding around the ceiling. She had a dormer in the wall, with her few stuffed animals arranged on the window seat. The pastel pink shag rug around her bed was as fluffy as the day she'd bought it and it kept her feet warm when her pale pinewood floors got cold in the Los Angeles winter.

Her desk, a simple white rustic writing desk, was against the wall at the foot of her bed and on it was a light, flowy chiffon dress with a floral pattern and thin gold faux leather belt. She pulled herself out of bed and got dressed. The dress fell about mid-calf and the neckline was just low enough to keep the moonlark pendant necklace from falling under the fabric.

Life was a lot different now. She was free from most of the restrictions and fear in the Lost Cities. She had friends. People liked her and they didn't give a crap about her eyes. Other than the occasional idiot trying cliche pickup lines on her, they weren't commented on. It was nice. Sometimes, people asked about her necklace and all she had to say was that it was a gift from her mother.

The timer didn't have a lot of time left on it. To use up the rest of it, Jolie decided to do some minimal makeup. Aunt Amy let her have a little every once in a while and her fourteenth birthday was probably important enough.

Her Aunt Biana probably would have been shocked at how small her collection was. Jolie didn't remember her ever wearing as much makeup as her mother said she used to, but for formal events, she still made the effort.

All Jolie needed was a clear 'mascara' that was actually an elvin product meant to work the same, but for people that had heavy, thick lashes already, a little bit of concealer under her eyes since she wasn't sleeping well, and her favorite lipstick. She smacked her lips staring at her reflection in the mirror hanging on the back of her door.

Objectively, she looked amazing. The dress complemented her figure, her face had sweet, delicate features and perfect skin and contour without any makeup. But it reminded her too much of her mother's funeral, three years and four days ago. Every time she saw the colour green, it trapped her in the memories.

Green was supposed to represent life, but to her, it meant nothing but death.

The green dress her mother had died in, the green-tinted flames that brought her death. The gas that had killed her father, aunts and uncles had been green. Every time Aunt Amy had been injured and ended up in the hospital from being wounded on duty, somehow the wrapping on the wound was always green. One time, a classmate had gotten horribly sick after they drank marjiuana-infused water, which turned the liquid green.

Yeah. She hated the colour green.

The timer went off, startling her. Jolie pressed the button to turn it off and opened her door.

The house where she lived with her aunt was small, more like an apartment then a house. There were three doors going off the stairs, one to the bathroom and two to the bedrooms. Her room was directly across from the stairs.

As soon as she closed her bedroom door behind her, she was mauled by two small children, a seven-year-old brunette girl and a four-year-old red-headed boy.

"SURPRISE!" the girl yelled in Jolie's ear.

"You two do not understand the point of a surprise party." Heavy footsteps brought a familiar dark-haired man into sight.

Jolie detached the her cousins from her body. "Hi Uncle Alvar. I didn't know you were coming. I thought you were out-of-state."

Her parents had never talked about her father's older brother. They only mentioned him in passing and quickly changed the subject whenever she or her siblings asked about him. So when Aunt Amy had introduced her to him, back when she'd first gone to live with her, she hadn't had much against him, besides the usual stranger-I'm-related-to-but-never-met. And he'd been as supporting as he could be from the long distance, since he was in Montana and she was in California and neither of them had leaping crystal to each other's locations. Phone calls and Skype played a prominent role. It was nice, having someone who really understood. Apparently, her mother had given him some of her memories so that he could pass on some of her knowledge.

"I am out-of-state. I'm here."

She giggled. "You know what I mean." But she walked down the stairs and hugged her uncle tightly. "I'm still glad you're here."

He hugged her back. "I'm glad to be here."

"Y'all gonna come over here and give me a hug or not?" Her other human aunt, Annie, shouldered Alvar aside and wrapped her arms around Jolie, squeezing her ribs way too tightly. "Good ta see you, squirt."

"Aunt Annie, can't breathe."

"Sorry." She let go. "How you been doing?"

Jolie coughed, rubbing her sides. "Pretty good."

"Cousin!" She had about two seconds before two more strong pairs of arms, toughened by hundred-pound hay bales and stubborn horses attempted to choke the life out of her.

"Alright, let the poor girl down!" Aunt Amy called.

Delilah and Adam let her go, grinning. Della ruffled her hair. "Y'all got tons of presents. You gonna open them?"

The youngest girl wrapped her arms around her waist. "I'm seven now!"

"And I'm four!" A redhead sat on her foot, holding tightly to her knee.

Jolie finally got a word in around her cousins. "Hi! It's great to see all of you, but please detach yourselves from my body. I will open presents, but let me say hi to everyone first."

Uncle Alvar leaned down and pulled his son off Jolie's leg. "Kiddos, why don't you go help your mom. Not all of you doing one thing at the same time! But go find ways to help your mom."

There was a general grumbling, but they filtered out of the space, either outside or into the dining room or kitchen.

Once everyone had dispersed, leaving Jolie and Alvar alone, her uncle motioned to the couch. "I have something I need to give you." His voice was grave and his eyes were weary.

"Okay." Jolie sat next to him on the edge of the couch. This had to have something to do with her mom.

"Before she died, about four years ago, your mom gave me a book. It was a memory log of all the information you would need to know. Some of the pages are excerpts from books, others are her own writing, or detailed images of martial art forms. All the information you need to harness the power of the moonlark. She told me I would probably never need it, but she wanted me to have it just in case. I'm glad she took that precaution." Alvar muttered a word under his breath and a book popped out of nowhere into his lap. He handed it to her. "She tucked it away in the void for me to retrieve at will. I wish I'd known before she left that I would never see her again."

Jolie took the book and set it in her lap. It was simple, with gold decorative plates set on two corners and bound with a leather strap around the middle. It had no true spine, opting for a simple look resembling a traveler's journal, were it not for the gold edging on the strap holding it closed and the plates in the corners. She unfastened the buckles and opened the book.

A note fell out with Alvar's name written on it in a familiar loopy, but surprisingly readable for all its messiness, style.

_Alvar,_

_There is an Evenglen leaping crystal hidden behind the false back of the highest drawer in the entertainment center, out of children's reach. In case you ever need it. Also, if you have any more children past the twins, contraceptives are a thing in the human world (Do elves have any form of birth control at all?) and you should use them. As darling and wonderful as your children are, four is plenty. I myself wanted to stop at two, but the universe had other plans in the form of quintuplets._

_Sophie_

Jolie handed the note to her uncle. He read it and burst out laughing. "Oh how I wish I could tell her we really tried."

The first page was a handwritten letter in the same messy cursive.

_To my wonderful daughter Jolie._

_If you are reading this letter, I will have passed away. As I am writing this, you are fast asleep, curled up on your father's chest in our bed. It pains me greatly to think that my precious little girl may have to face the reality that everything she knows and loves is gone. But that is our current reality. If, somehow, if the wretched war does not start again, you have no need of this letter, I will happily burn it and this book I have complied. Yes, it is a valuable store if information, but it is dangerous information. If it were to fall into the hands of ANYONE who does not have the same conditioning and hardening we had, it could mean the end of our world, and certainly our lives._

_Whatever may happen, if you are still living in the Lost Cities, do not let the Council know this book exists. As far as they know, the moonlark power ends with me. Be absolutely sure it stays that way. Above all. As much as it pains me to have to force you to keep your power hidden, there are beings at work who have had control of the Lost Cities for tens of thousands of years. I am a threat to that power. You are a threat to that power. Biana and Dex are a threat to them. They will do whatever it takes to stay in control of their picturesque world._

_I really think the word 'picturesque' fits the Lost Cities well. When you first look at it, it is the perfect world. Everyone is happy where they are, there is no prejudice, no grief and no sorrow. Then, when you take a second look, that is when you see everything they don't want you to see. The cracks, the falsehoods, the people swept into alleyways because they refuse to keep up the charade. And you realize this is not a picture, it is only the semblance of one. Thus, the meaning of the word, picturesque. Something that resembles perfection, but is only its echo._

_Forgive me for rambling on. Fitz says I do that sometimes. I hope I didn't take too long._

_Inside this book is all the knowledge I, your father, and your extended family have amassed over the years. Most of this information does not exist anywhere else. If it is elsewhere beside our minds, it is in the library of Adeala, thousands of lightyears away from you, where no one can access it. Here you will find the secret to the many disciplines the Lost Cities calls abilities. I have not believed this in many a year._

_Most of the things I have recorded are illegal or could be very soon. If you reach far enough, you will be trained to hunt and kill. This is not something I ever want you to learn. You should never have to feel the burden of having taken a life. I should never have killed cleaning up a muckup older than the Vacker name. You shouldn't either. But as I have said, if you are reading this letter, you are being forced to. So I will pass on as much information as I can put in writing. I will continue updating this book until the Banished Seven take their toll in blood. It will be nice to finally know rest, to finally know true peace. But if I know true restful peace, then it can only mean the world is tearing itself apart._

_I am sorry, my dear daughter. I am so sorry. Sorry that you find yourself picking up a mess you had no part in. Sorry that I could not protect you from the dangers that claimed my childhood. It is my hope you are at least fourteen. I was five when I first felt the power I bear in my blood weigh heavy on me. When I was twelve, I was kidnapped and tortured along with my cousin, your uncle Dex. It is my prayer that you will get to be a child first and foremost. You may be angry at me for keeping this from you, but I hope you understand I only wanted to protect you._

_The Banished Seven are your greatest danger. Even the strongest of the Neverseen cower at their feet. I pray that you will never hear the name again, but I am forced to explain who they are and why they are doing here._

_The Banished Seven are seven Titan dragons of the clans Nightbearer, Seadancer, Lightbreath and Cliffbreaker that commited vile acts of treason against their Clans and the King of Dragons. They were banished to a remote realm and bound to mortal forms. It was hoped that without their great and powerful draconic abilities, they would eventually die. However, they found a way to grow their power by leeching the life from others. Together the three of them wove an energy-sapping web around the globe. It only shortened the lives of humans a year, but with the amount of humans already here, the sheer volume of the energy was enough to strengthen them beyond belief. They were able to bend the elvin race to their will in one fell swoop._

_They have held power ever since. They are some of the most powerful people in the elvin world. Anyone you think of that has influenced the elvin world dramatically is almost certainly one of the Banished Seven. Their names are Tyrginth, Nova, Rovass, Luminance, Iazer, Arbane and Eimmod. All but Eimmod have taken elvin names. I only know one of them. The dragon Iazer, of Clan Lightbreath, took the alias of Fylson Redek. The other six you will have to find for yourself._

_You are a threat to them. They will stop at absolutely nothing to kill you if they find out you have my power. Do not let anyone know that you have this book, if I have not already made that clear._

_Tell your Aunt Amy I love her and I'm sorry._

_I love you with all my being, my little moonlark._

_Much love,_

_Sophie Elizabeth Vacker_

Jolie squeezed her eyes shut, unable to stop her tears from dripping onto the page, but the ink didn't smear.

Her uncle scooted closer to her and gently hugged her. Jolie wiped her eyes, sniffling, as she gently turned the pages. Most of them were text in a variety of hands. Some she recognized, others were foreign to her. Some had a page in a language she didn't know, next to the translation. Every so often, as she flipped though it, were other smaller letters and notes from her family. She took time to read all of them, smiling at the kind words and encouragement from beyond the grave.

Footsteps ran up the outside steps and Alvar moved to close the book, but Jolie beat him to it. She refastened the buckle and ran it up to her room, hiding it under the false panel under her bed, where she also kept an emergency pathfinder, a few of her Uncle Dex's gadgets, and a knife.

Her aunts and cousins were waiting for her when she got back downstairs. Jolie did her best to concentrate on the celebration and she genuinely enjoyed it. But every so often, she and her uncle shared a worn look and she remembered the responsibility that lay upstairs.

* * *

Five hands flung silver throwing stars in perfect sync and hit five targets in the exact same place. Sandor sighed and removed them. "It has taken you five all of two minutes to perfect this. I am starting to not believe Sophie didn't teach you anything."

"Have we convinced you yet?" Hope said, grinning.

He sighed again, putting the throwing stars. "No. You may not learn the ogre style of hand-to-hand combat."

"Oh we don't want to learn that." Mira said.

Lucky smiled. "We want to see what we can do.

"And he's sturdier than you are." Dessy finished.

Sandor groaned. "My answer is still no. If you want to fight someone, you can fight me."

"But we've already fought a goblin." Faith countered.

"We sparred with Grizel." Hope confirmed.

Dessy smiled. "She lost in five minutes."

"One for each of us." Mira finished.

"Fine." Sandor growled. "Spar with Bo. But don't get hurt."

They grinned and said in unison, "Okay."

Bo stomped onto the the training field, shaking his head. "If you girls really want to spar, I will oblige you, but do not blame me when you lose."

They grinned. "Only if you will be a good sport about losing to five ten-year-old elves." Dessy agreed.

He sighed, not bothering to draw his weapon.

Miracle's thoughts whispered across the back of their minds, solidifying a connection between all five of them. They had their own tasks and each trusted the other four to perform as needed. Hope, as the oldest and physically strongest, though not by a large margin considering they were all genetically identical, controlled their physical movement, making it fluid, smooth and completely in sync.

The five of them slid into back stances, hands out and ready. Faith and Destiny held back mentally, leaving the battle to their sisters, as Faith controlled telepathic defense and Destiny telepathic offense, neither of which was needed at the moment.

_Go for his legs._ Lucky whispered. _He's not expecting it. He thinks we're easy pickings._ She was the strategist. It was her job to chose the best course of action for Hope to employ.

The eldest quint raised their arms and clenched the fist. The ground under Bo's feet dissolved into quicksand, sucking him down and cementing him waist-deep in solid rock. Because of ogre proportions, his arms were also stuck from the elbow down. Hope and Miracle released their hold on the others and all of them returned to an at-ease position.

"Do you admit defeat?" Hope asked.

Bo grumbled. "Elves and your abilities. Why did I have to pick such strange charges?"

Mira shrugged. "Well, we're the daughters of the moonlark."

"Our whole family is strange." Dessy agreed.

"Were we supposed to be normal?" Lucky asked.

Faith grinned. "Apparently we didn't get the memo."

Bo sighed.

* * *

Jolie stared out the plane window at the green and brown expanse that was Montana. A month after her birthday, her aunt had gotten a surprise week off and suggested they go up and visit Alvar and his family. Her uncle had insisted on paying all costs for them.

They landed in the Helena airport and retrieved their baggage. They were expecting the whole horde, but only Alvar was waiting for them outside, leaning against a silver truck. Jolie wasn't great at telling brands, makes, and models apart, but it looked sturdy and there was mud dried on the tires where it hadn't come off.

"Jolie, Amy! Glad you could make it."

"So am I." Aunt Amy shook Alvar's hand in a firm grip. "You're missing a few family members."

"Sophia and Frederick lost the privilege of coming after they left the pasture gate open and all the cows got out and then David got stuck up a tree. So Annie is consoling the youngest and the middles are grounded. The older ones are rounding up the cows and Bianca didn't want to come alone."

"Understood."

Jolie set down her bag and accepted her uncle's hug. When he pulled back to ruffle her hair, his eyes landed on her necklace pendant and turned sad. "Is that a moonlark necklace?"

"Yeah. It was a gift from my mom for my tenth birthday."

"I like it." He picked up their luggage for them and put it in the back of his truck. "Who's got shotgun?"

"You can have it if you want, Jo-Jo." Aunt Amy got into the seat behind the driver.

She smiled, walking around the front of the trunk and got in. It was a bit of a struggle, since the truck was much bigger than she was and the seat was almost level with her chest.

Uncle Alvar chuckled. "Sorry. This truck was not bought with short people in mind. I bought it for myself to drive back and forth from the light leaping spot."

"It's okay, just give me a little bit to get myself situated."

Blood Creek was actually a pretty town. There wasn't much money there, but the small shop fronts were well-maintained and the people waved at them as they drove by. Almost everyone appeared to recognize Alvar's truck and called out greetings to him. He rolled down the window to return the hellos.

"You know a lot of people here."

"It's a very tightly knit community. There's a few big families and a lot of smaller ones. I think the population is around four thousand, forty-five hundred at the most. There's not a ton of outside influence. We don't have to order a lot of things from outside, except for major appliances and that kind of thing. All the food is grown in or around town and we generally trade for what we need. It's a nice system. Annie's family makes up a good chunk of the population. She has a crap ton of relatives."

Jolie smiled. "It feels really welcoming. Do you know everyone?"

Alvar smiled. "Close to, at least on my side of town. It really is an everyone-knows-everyone kind of town. The Brodwick family is pretty prominent. My father-in-law, Clay Brodwick, produces most of the hay and feed everyone else needs for cattle and horses and such. Annie's taken over the cattle runnin'. I do horses. I don't breed, but I hold onto 'em for the people who do. Some of 'em have problem stallions who keep gettin' in with the mares."

"I'm not seeing any sort of police force. Do you not have one? I've noticed that on my other trips here, but figured your kids probably wouldn't know." Aunt Amy asked.

"Not really. We have plenty of cops, but they're all small-town cowboys like us. We have our own set of rules and don't really pay attention to the law. We've never been caught out on it and I doubt we ever will." Alvar waved at an old Chinese woman watering flowers outside, turning onto a wider, more trafficked street.

Amy chuckled. "I don't think so either. I'd never heard of Blood Creek before Sophie mentioned it to me."

Jolie sighed, smiling. Of course her aunt, so dedicated to her job as a police detective, would notice the lack of legal structure immediately. Then she remembered something strange in her aunt's phrasing. "Wait, what do you mean, 'other trips here'? This is your first time." When the adults didn't answer, she said. "Right?"

Aunt Amy chose her words carefully. "This is not my first time in Blood Creek. I've actually known about Alvar and his family for a while. I spent a fair amount of time up here before you came to live with me and often shuttled his kids from one place or another, since Annie's relatives were taking care of their own kids. Hey, how did standardized testing go? Della said it went well."

Alvar grinned. "It went great. Top of the class, again. She's been on the honour roll every year since sixth grade and so have Adam and the twins."

"Do multiples run in your family or something? You've got twins, Sophie and Fitz had quintuplets out of nowhere, and Biana couldn't seem to have singletons."

"Yeesh, I don't know. I don't actually know if my parents have siblings, but I believe they are both only children. I don't have a ton of information and it's probably outdated by now, but I don't think there's ever been a set of multiples in the Vacker family ever, well until we showed up and ruined the party. Who knew, alllll three of us, all in bad matches, all with multiples, the whole nine yards. I even married a human and half my kids are probably going to end up Talentless! It's hilarious!"

Jolie accepted the quick subject change. Her aunt and uncle probably didn't want to talk about it.

"From what Sophie told me, it was a scandal of epic proportions. Biana and Dex both straight-up never registered and when the Council tried to get involved, I was told your sister flipped them the bird and walked out. Fitz and Sophie weren't matched so what he did was throw a Winnowing Gala and then she showed up and he refused to pay attention to any other girl there for the rest of the night. Apparently it was a huge point of gossip. I don't understand the point of it, but I thought it was funny. Your parents made a point of saying your sibling's decisions were their own and it had nothing to do with them. Then Biana had twins in her first pregnancy and there goes the gossip mongers again."

Alvar laughed. "That sounds like my siblings. It must have been hilarious. I'm glad that some of the traits from when they were younger eventually÷ came out. Now everyone gets to see what I had to deal with, every hour of every day until I moved out. When I came back for dinner for one occasion or another, the time I met Sophie, it was like 'Where has all this maturity been for the last fourteen years? You guys are not this smart!' I'm thinking they were paying attention to their behavior for once. What was even funnier was my poor brother and Sophie had such obvious crushes on each other and yet it went over everyone's heads but mine. Although my parents probably knew more than they let on."

"Uh, Uncle Alvar, you should probably concentrate on driving, there's a cow in the road."

Alvar muttered a nasty elvin curse word under his breath and jerked the wheel, steering around the cow. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Language is generally looser around here and I forget to watch my tongue sometimes. The first time I cussed around Sophie, she may have slapped me, I don't remember. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry." Aunt Amy answered. "Honestly, Sophie shouldn't be getting on anyone's case for that. I've heard her let fly some pretty nasty words when she thinks no one can hear her. But why is there a random cow in the road?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, it's cattle country out here. Who knows. There's a hundred different reasons. I know Annie raises beef cows and that is a Jersey, mainly dairy, so I won't worry about it. Somebody else's cow, somebody else's problem."

Aunt Amy laughed. "What happened to that close-knit community you were just talking about?"

"While you make a fair point, you don't mess with someone else's cattle. Horses can usually be caught pretty easily and most are branded or have some identifying mark so you can return them. But to catch a cow, I need at least a rope and most of the time a horse, neither of which I have. And I don't know whose cow it is. I'd never be accused of trying to steal it, because why would I steal it if I could walk up to the owner and he'd probably give me five? But you just don't mess with someone else's cattle."

They turned onto Sky Country Road. Alvar slowed down considerably, constantly looking around. "There are a ton of families with kids, so you have to be really careful on this road. I usually park at Annie's parent's place, which is at the end of the road, but they are moving equipment around right now and I don't want to take up any space they might need."

The street was surprisingly kid-free. Jolie smiled when she saw most of her cousins gathered in the front yard, playing some sort of rough-and-tumble game with a ball. It looked more like an excuse to pummel each other into the ground than a game. She wouldn't join in, but she would happily watch.

Uncle Alvar turned the truck off. "We're here. Y'all are staying in the guest house over there. Annie's house wasn't built for the amount of people we have in it. She and her siblings are all pretty spaced out, so they only needed three bedrooms total at any given time. But we have six all close together, so they're squished. David stays with me and Annie, the girls are in one room and the older boys in the other. It would just be too tight a squish."

"I understand." Aunt Amy said.

Jolie opened the truck door and slid down to the ground. She was almost immediately surrounded by her cousins, who acted like they hadn't seen her in years, as opposed to less than a month ago.

"Jo-Jo!" Freddie wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to come to your birthday, I was sick with the flu."

"Hey, Freddie." She hugged him back. "It's okay."

"Boys, please be gentlemen and get their bags." Aunt Annie nudged her middle son out of the way and hugged Jolie. "How are you doin', kiddo?"

"I'm good, Aunt Annie."

"Did Dad say what kinds of things he'll be teaching you?" Adam retrieved Jolie's pick flower covered suitcase. "He's a martial arts Grandmaster who can kill someone with just the pressure points below the elbow."

Jolie smiled, feeling a bit queasy at her cousin's proclamation. "I'm not here for him to teach me anything. I'm here to visit you guys because you're family."

"Oh." He looked disappointed.

Annie rolled her eyes. "Adam, leave her alone. Be happy your cousin is visiting."

"Sorry Ma."

Jolie turned to her uncle as her male cousins hurried their luggage to the guest house. "Are you going to be training me? Adam mentioned it."

Alvar sighed. "My son is overexcited. Annie and I teach all our children self-defense, hand-to-hand combat, and the use of certain handguns and rifles regularly. He has assumed that since you're here for the week, you will be joining us. I am not opposed to the idea, though many of the things you need training it will need to be taught privately, for your mother's sake, may she rest in peace, and by someone a little more qualified than me, who hasn't Vanished in so long I'm not sure I remember how. But it is up to you."

"I'd be okay with it. Adam also said you can kill someone just using the pressure points below the elbow. Is that true?"

Alvar laughed, leading them toward his house. "I don't think I'm that good. I was in the past, but that was a good forty years ago. I'm eleven years older than your dad, you know. Which means I'm almost fifty! Sheesh!"

"Ha! I'm only thirty-four!" Amy cackled.

"Now don't y'all start!" Aunt Annie shouldered past them and opened the door. "I got pot roast cookin'. You not one of the elves who won't eat a good cut a' meat jus' cause it's meat, right?

Jolie shook her head. "Mom and Dad used to say 'We acknowledge that the elvin world has decided not to eat meat and given that it's a stupid decision, we have elected to ignore it.' They didn't serve it out of respect when we had certain people over but Uncle Dex and Aunt Biana were half-dragon, and dragons are messy carnivores. So I'm not super picky about that."

"Good! I wouldn't be too upset if y'all didn't, cause that's jus' more for me!"

Uncle Alvar sighed, staring wistfully after his wife as she went to check on the food. "Sometimes I wonder how I survived without her."

"You certainly did get lucky." Aunt Amy said.

Jolie wasn't impressed by the inside of their house in any measure, but as soon as she crossed the threshold, she felt the aura of comfort and familial love that lived inside these wooden walls. The couch that sat under the large window in the wall to the direct right of the door was worn and probably passed down from Annie's parents. But it was well-loved and there were several places were it had been patched, probably with elvin techniques, to keep it looking semi-presentable. The entertainment centre was directly across from the couch and in between two doors. The one to the right, hanging open, went up the stairs to the bedrooms. She didn't know what was behind the closed door.

The shelves of the entertainment centre had a lot of pictures on them. Jolie guessed there was one shelf for each child.

The entrance to the kitchen was on the left side of the room. The wall was completely open and there were two dark wood faux pillars on either side of the opening. They complimented the light wood counters running along the kitchen wall. A large open window sat above the sink with flowy white curtains, cut short to keep them out of the water and out of reach from small hands.

Jolie smiled. "Your house is really nice."

"Thank you." Alvar bent down and picked up a few Hotwheels off the carpet. "Sorry if you step on anything. I told David to pick up his toy cars last week and he still hasn't done it." He opened the closed door to the left of the entertainment centre and tossed them in, telling someone inside, presumably his son, "Hey kiddo. We have guests over, so if you're gonna have all your cars out, move them in here so nobody steps on them and hurts themselves."

"Yes Daddy." David answered.

"Mom's gonna have dinner ready soon. Start putting away what's not being played with in about five minutes, okay? Make sure you get your cars and Legos."

"Okay."

Alvar closed the door. "All the toys are supposed to stay in there unless it's for a specific reason, but that hasn't really happened."

Amy smiled. "I get that. I used to visit Cliffside a lot before things got hairy. Sophie and Fitz did their best to keep all toys upstairs, but when you've got seven kids, it's hard to hold to the rules."

"I understand that. You guys are welcome to sit down," -he gestured to the couch- "dinner will be ready when Annie says it is. But it should be almost done."

"I think we'll unpack, unless food is ready, now-now."

"Not that fast." Annie called. "Y'all go unpack, it should be ready by the time you get done. I'll send someone to get you when it's ready."

Jolie and Amy left. Sophia showed them where the guest house was. She didn't talk beyond what was necessary, apparently a little sour about her grounding.

It was smaller than the main house, with a small living space, and doors leading to a bathroom, downstairs bedroom, and narrows staircase up to a loft room. Adam had left Jolie's suitcase in the loft.

It had a sloped wooden room with a bed on the left side. There were windows under each gable, giving her a view of the large Brodwick property either side. It had a small closet to the right of the front facing window. Like the rest of both houses, it was rather plain, but in a town where there wasn't much money to go around, she wasn't going to complain. She was surprised they had a guest house in the first place, but that probably had something to do with Alvar's birth fund.

She didn't have a lot of clothes, so if they had to leave and move in a hurry, it would take less than an hour to pack up her room. So all she'd brought were a few less loved dresses, two pairs of jeans, and a few shirts. Now that she saw the amount of dust, dirt, mud, and horse manure that got everywhere, she was glad she'd chosen not to bring her new dress.

"Jo-Jo, dinner's ready!" Bianca yelled from downstairs.

* * *

Training with her uncle and cousins was not what she expected. Alvar used and taught a strange conglomeration of elvin and human techniques and ideals. There were heavy influences from both taikwondo and kung fu. She also recognized a lot of, shall we say, unorthodox uses of elvin skills. She was surprised that her uncle not only knew these things, but was teaching them to his children. Alvar laughed when she pointed the fact out.

"I agree, they're not the most sporting of tricks. But they've saved my life and they might save yours. Even the Neverseen hold themselves to some code of conduct. I figured out a long time ago that everyone's going to assume I'll keep of the unspoken rules the elvin world tries so hard to instill. Well, if it's my life or my family's lives on the line, it's a sucker's bet I'll be playing dirty and there's nothing anyone can do about it. These are tricks I taught Tam in his short bout with us before I dumped him off with his parents and pretended he'd given me the slip. It wasn't hard, the entire organization was convinced I didn't have two brain cells to rub together at that point. But my point in all that was I know the Neverseen. They know that in an effort to appear like the greater species, any elf will try to be sporting in a fight. Don't do that. If dirty tricks are what get you out of bad situations, then that's what it took. I can honestly say if you give me the opportunity, I will have no problem putting a bullet in Vespera's head, even if she's sleeping. Some of the guys in town say you shouldn't kill someone while they're sleeping or otherwise vulnerable. Yeah, how about no."

Della rolled her eyes fondly. "So what was your point there?"

"Right, sorry. Yes, dirty tricks aren't sporting but they still work."

Jolie sighed. "Mom and Dad told me they didn't want me doing stuff like that."

Adam looked up from where he was sitting on the ground, whittling a small stick. "They were probably talking about fights at school and with your siblings. There's no such thing as cheating in war. If it saves your life, it saves your life."

Jolie couldn't stop herself from tearing up when she heard the word 'war'. She knew that since her mother was gone, it was her job to take up the mantle of moonlark. She also knew that the title had landed Sophie in heaps of trouble. Kidnapped, poisoned, a potentially lethal ability restrictor. Then there was all the legal drama, the attempts at control and the general crap the elvin world put her through. Then she'd taken an apprenticeship and learned the art of war. It hadn't broken her mind the way the elves told her it would. It had hardened her. Changed her. Scarred her. And all her mother had wanted was to live in peace. Even that was denied to her.

"Adam, be a little gentler with her." Alvar gently squeezed his niece's shoulder. "I understand, Jolie. You've got a big responsibility you don't know what to do with. Just concentrate on learning the moves and you'll either have to use them or you won't. Or if you feel done for today, Annie could probably use some help with the horses and there's probably some wood that needs chopping if you need to get some feelings out."

Adam grumbled something under his breath about girls. Alvar's gaze snapped to his son. "Care to repeat that, loud enough for Jolie to hear?"

He cringed. "No sir."

"That's what I thought. You ought to know by now, no matter how quiet you think you're being, I can still hear you." Alvar tapped the top of his ear. "Enhanced hearing, kiddo."

"Yeah. Sorry, Jo."

Uncle Alvar crossed his arms. "You're still going to repeat what you said loud enough for your cousin to hear. Alternatively, I could say it for you and you can go work on mucking out Daisy's old stall. Your choice."

Adam grumbled and chose the former option. "I said, 'Why do the city kids always get special treatment?'"

Jolie cringed.

Alvar sighed. "Adam, you remember that old book of your mom's? Go find the page on the moonlark. Not the bird, the person. And remember that Jolie has inherited that power and position."

"Yes sir." Adam folded his knife after cleaning the wood shavings from it and stuck both it and the stick into his back pocket. He stood and walked back to the house.

Della smiled at Jolie. "Sorry about the stupidhead, Jo. I get it. Powerful weird bird stuff that you need to save the world."

Alvar pinched the bride of his nose in between thumb and forefinger. "Della, what have you mother and I told all of you and your siblings about name-calling?"

"It's only allowed if the person gets drunk before the age of twenty-one?"

"Exactly. You are not wrong, but you still should not call your brother names."

"Sorry Dad."

Jolie grinned at Della's description. "You're not wrong about the moonlark powers either. But it's a little more complicated than that."

"A lot more complicated. If you want, Jolie, we can start working on it today."

"It's okay, Uncle. I think I'll go look through my book again. Maybe tomorrow." Jolie left her uncle and cousin to work and retrieved her mother's book from her luggage. As important as secrecy was with it, she didn't want to be alone.

Inside the main house, it was mostly empty, except for Aunt Annie baking something in the kitchen.

Jolie sat down on the couch and opened the book to the place where her moonlark-embossed bookmark lay. The chapter she was slowly working though, slowly because of the many heartfelt notes, sometimes more than one per page, making her cry too hard to continue.

The chapter only had one page left. It was supposed to be a continuation of the page before it, but the paper was covered in a scribbled conversation between her mother and Uncle Keefe. It apparently hadn't been vital information, because it was never actually relayed.

Jolie carefully turned the page, noting where a tear near the binding had been repaired. There were no true chapter headings, just an abrupt subject change and sometimes a different handwriting. This time it switched to the graceful swoops and curls of her Aunt Biana's cursive.

_There is a very well-kept secret surrounding Project Moonlark that was never meant to come to light, but it is something you should know. The Back Swan knew exactly what they wanted in their moonlark and they almost had to end the project because the genetic sequence required for it was impossible to create artificially. It was creatable with two parents with very specific sets of DNA, but not in a laboratory. No one in the Black Swam was willing to control two lives in order to get their moonlark._

_They were ready to give up when they realized that one of the DNA strands already existed, in my brother. The Vacker line holds an enhancing gene not found in any other elf. That, combined with your mother's created ability to mend broken minds, was hoped to create a power unlike anything the Lost Cities has ever seen._

_The Black Swan created their moonlark after taking great care to hedge their bets history would fall in their favour. They dropped the hint to Alden specifically, knowing he would send my brothers to look for her. It was their hope that Sophie and Fitz would fall for each other, and they were right._

Jolie quickly turned the page, hoping to see the rest of the story and sighed. It was just projected research to give her more information about Project Moonlark.

"Whatcha got there, kiddo?"

Jolie jumped, closing the book quickly. "Aunt Annie. I didn't see you there."

"That an interesting book?"

"Well, yes. My mother made it for me. I'm supposed to keep it a secret. She didn't want it falling into enemy hands."

"Oh, I get it." Annie went back to the kitchen. "I'm not supposed to know. It's okay. If you're done, you can run along and hide it and I'll pretend I never saw it. If yer not busy, I could use somebody to peel the potatoes."

"Thanks, Aunt Annie." Jolie returned to the guest house to put the book away and went to help her aunt.

Even though she was only fourteen, she was already taller than four-foot-ten Annie. She took the potato peeler and began peeling them over the trash can as Annie washed them. Sometimes David would run in and drag either his mom or his cousin into the play room to see his race car track or his Lego build. Occasionally, he and Bianca would run in squabbling over who had won the race with their Hotwheels. They soon decided to stop asking their mother about if after she tried to get them to clean their rooms.

"How's Amy doin'? Did she get the detective job she wanted?"

"Aunt Amy said she did. I think she's waiting on the background check to go through, even though she's just changing from the New York police department to the San Diego one. We're not worried since Mom made sure we'd always be taken care of even if Aunt Amy can't find a job."

Annie handed her the last of the potatoes and began chopping the ones Jolie had already peeled. "That's awesome."

There was a brief pause and silence, broken only by the sound of Annie chopping and the bickering of Jolie's two younger cousins in the playroom.

"Aunt Annie?"

"Eh?"

"Why do you hate elves so much?"

Annie sighed, setting down her knife. "I don't hate elves. I can say with all certainty I do not hate them. For a very long time, most of my life, I was terrified that one of them would come and take Alvar away. It was a very real threat, even after he told me it was over. As my kiddos got older, I was scared someone would find out and we didn't know what would happen to them if we got caught. All we knew was that elves were dangerous and would probably get my family killed. Your ma didn't trust the Council, did she?"

Jolie shook her head. "Mom didn't trust anyone that wasn't affiliated with the Black Swan."

"Then it's not too out of the blue that we wouldn't either. Alvar wasn't sure the Black Swan wouldn't out him to the government or not because of bad blood between them, so it was safer for all of us to not trust anyone."

"I understand. Where do you want the potatoes?"

"In the pan. I'm going to fry them to give them a crispy skin and so they don't disintegrate in the pot. Grab some carrots out of the fridge while you're over there."

"Okay." Jolie picked up the cutting board after her aunt was finished chopping and dumped the potatoes in the pot. She reached in the fridge and grabbed two or three carrots. "Do you need anything else out of the fridge?"

"Hmm. What do you think would go good with beef?"

"Maybe an onion? I don't have a lot of experience with human vegetables. Mom didn't do a lot of stuff with them."

"Yeah. Grab an onion and some celery if there's any in there. There should be, I just bought some yesterday. Alvar goes through the stuff like nobody's business. Honestly, he's more trouble about eating vegetables than the kids are, except for celery and lima beans, which he goes through like candy."

Jolie laughed. "You're right, there isn't any in here. He must have finished it off."

"That man." Annie muttered. "Well, the onion will have to do and I'll find some spices."

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**Special fancy moonlark powers! Don't forget to drop a review before you go, even if it's just screaming at me for being a horrible sadistic person. Every review gets a teaser for the next chapter. (Let me know if you don't want one.)**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	21. Fury of the Flame

**With this chapter, I hit 65,000 words on this story. That's incredible and it's thanks to you guys for keeping me going.**

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Ry took a deep breath and stood to attention.

"Hands out. Go through the form again, slower. Careful and smooth. Focus on your movements."

He slid into the stance, paying close attention to the position of his feet. It was one he'd been going through for weeks, but he could only do the first half with any proficiency. He kept his steps light and stances solid, blasting fire from his limbs with each punch or kick.

"Ry! Stop!"

He groaned and returned to attention. "What am I doing wrong?"

"Are you aware of how much fire you're blasting out each time?"

"No. I'm not."

"You've almost hit someone several times. You blasted fire straight at my face the last time."

"Is there anything I can do to stop it?"

"Concentrate. Pay attention." Aunt Marella pulled him through the motions. "Little bursts of fire. Size of your head, no bigger."

"Okay." Ry tried again, feeling the size of the ball and keeping it from flying out of control.

"Much better, kiddo. Try the form again, carefully. Keep the blasts small. Your control is incredible, but your ability to sense the fire needs work."

"It's kind of hard to sense something you can't see." he said, slowly becoming fed up with his inability to perform the set correctly.

Aunt Marella turned him to face the correct way. "This way. Try again. You don't need to see to sense it."

Ry slid through the stance again, focusing on keeping the blasts all the same size. He finished the form and turned to face his aunt. "Did I do it right?"

"You did the form just fine. I just don't know how to continue teaching you. The blasts were all the same size, but they were different intensities. Can you make them all the same?"

"No. I can't see them." He plopped down on the ground, crossing his arms. "I have no idea what I'm doing! I can tell the difference between a low-heat area and a high-heat area. But that is useless here! I don't know how to measure intensity or size! I just know it's hot! I can't actually see anything! I'm blind." His lip trembled and voice broke. "I'm disabled.

Someone, he assumed it was Aunt Marella, sat down next to him. "Put out your hands, Ry."

He obeyed, stretching out his fingers tentatively.

Something cold and metal met his palm. "What does that feel like to you?"

Ry was confused. He set it in his lap and ran his hands over it. The main section was a little longer. than his hands together, and it tapered gently. On the slightly larger end was a hinge and something that felt like a cup. On the slightly thinner end was...something weird.

"Is this shaped like a hand? That's what it feels like."

"Yes it is. It's a prosthetic arm."

"But the fingers are really pointy and sharp, and none of you have one." Ry said, then he realized the smooth metal was the exact same size as his aunt's arm. "Right?"

She took his hand and placed it on her arm. He felt down and his fingers met a stump and air.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Arms." Aunt Marella corrected. "It was an accident during a raid. I lost form and hold on my fire and couldn't shield myself from the fire coming at me. The burns to my arms and hands caused irreparable damage, and since it was out in the wilds, by the time we got back to a skilled healer, infection had set too deep in the wounds and both my arms had to be amputated at the elbow. I had to relearn absolutely everything, once your uncle Dex made me these prosthetic arms. I use a special formula of elixirs and illusions to make them look like flesh and bone. But they're really metal and wires."

"You have pointy fingers." Ry traced the fingers on the prosthetic. "Can you stab people with them?"

She chuckled. "Yes, child, I can stab people with my fingers. Not as well as Biana and Dex could, but yes I can. My point is, you can still learn firebending, even if you're blind. I had to learn it with metal forearms. I can't feel anything below my elbow. I've learned to pay close attention to my environment so I can respond correctly when people touch my forearm or hand, but did you ever notice that your aunts, uncles and parents never touched my arm below the elbow? This is why."

Ry handed the prosthetic arm back to his aunt and stood. "I'm ready to try again."

"Okay." He heard the sound of a flame igniting and glanced over.

"This is the size of blast I want you to make with each strike. Can you do that?"

"I can try. Like this?" Ry studied the intensity and size of the heat and made an identical one hover over his hand.

"Exactly like that."

Ry let her guide him to the middle of the space and slid into the starting stance.

"Begin."

He took a deep breath and centered the fire he held in his body. Crossing his arms in front of his, he broke the X, shooting two blasts of fire in opposite directions. He moved forward quickly, aiming four punches in quick succession, as if routing an invisible enemy. With the increased focus, he could see exactly how large and intense each blast was. Careful to balance his weight over his centre of balance, he tucked his leg to his chest. _Inhale_. He had to bend over nearly parallel to the floor to aim the blast of fire from his kick correctly. _Exhale_.

_Breathe_. That was the key to Pyrokinesis.

He finished the form perfectly in tune with the heat in the air around him. As the fire from his last blasts dissipated, he could see nearly perfectly the heat outlines of the ogres in front of him. He pivoted on his heel to face his aunt and bowed from the waist.

"That was as close to perfect you're going to get without sight. You did wonderfully. Your blast size could use some adjusting, but that is negligible. I am going to teach you how to call Everblaze."

"Okay." Ry walked over to her, finally able to tell the difference between her and the ogres.

She knelt next to him. "Summoning it is easy. Anyone with the smallest connection to fire can summon it. But I am the only elf who has been able to keep control once they summon it. The trick is actually lack of control."

"Why the lack?"

"Everblaze likes freedom, but it is not naturally destructive. If you attempt to contain it, it will rebel and burn everything in its path. If you give it freedom, it will stay small and obey your will." She whispered three words under her breath and bright yellow flame curled around her wrist. It took the form of a snake, curling around her arm and raising its 'head' to look at her.

Ry's eyes widened and he quickly looked around the room. Where before he had seen heat signatures, he could now see the outlines of bodies. He knew where the walls were, and the door. Turning to look back at his aunt, his mouth fell open. Rather than a tall pillar of heat, he knew she was kneeling next to him. He knew there were scars on her face, and her eyes were a pretty colour.

"Aunt Marella, what's the name of the colour your eyes are?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "They're blue. Why?"

"I like the colour blue. It's pretty."

"How do you know…" She looked at the flame. "Ry can you see me?"

"I don't know. I've never been able to see. I don't know what it is."

She lifted her hand, holding it open. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Five."

"Do you know where the door is?"

Ry glanced around and pointed, knowing for once, he was right. "It's right there, in between those ogres."

Aunt Marella stared at him in shock. "Ry, you can see."

"I-I can see."

"Wait, before you get all excited, I want to test something." She closed her hand, making the Everblaze disappear. Everything around him vanished, leaving only the heat signatures where his aunt and the ogres were.

"Everything's gone. I can't see anymore."

She hissed under her breath again and the Everblaze sprang back and with it his sight.

"I can see again!"

Aunt Marella gasped. "In the presence of Everblaze, you can see. This, this is incredible."

"I can see." Ry breathed. "This is what sight is. Everything is all different colours. What colour is the wall? It looks like it's all the same, but they're so different!"

"The walls are brown and grey. Lots of different shades of brown and grey, but just those two.

"Wow. There's so many different ones! Are there names for all of them? And the fire looks so different! It has a shape now! Does fire always look like that?"

"No. Everblaze is bright yellow. Normal fire has a different colour, but it's pretty close."

"Wow. You're really pretty."

Aunt Marella smiled and Ry grinned. He knew what a smile looked like now! "Aww, thank you!"

"I want to go find Aunt Ro! And King Dimitar! I want to see what they look like!" He grabbed his aunt's hand and pulled her toward the door, for the first time confident he wouldn't run into the wall.

"Wait! Let me stand up, kiddo!" Aunt Marella laughed, pulling herself up from where she was sprawled on the floor. "You can't yank me like that when I'm sitting down! And I don't want to drop this."

"Sorry." Ry waited for her to stand before he grabbed her hand again.

He knew the way through the halls of Ravagog by heart, since he had to memorize them for when there was no one to help him navigate. They looked completely different. Instead of cold and dark, with spots of heat where the lights were, he could see the arching ceiling about him and the flat floor and where the walls were. There were so many colours. He had no idea so many colours even existed.

"This is incredible!" He stopped when he came to a crossroads he didn't know. "Uh, which way to the throne room?"

Aunt Marella smiled. "Give me just a moment." She spun the Everblaze into the shape of a snake, but without any of the tongues of flames around it. "I don't want to frighten them."

She led him into the room. He knew the throne room, he'd been there before when Aunt Ro was worried about him not being safe. But it looked completely different now that he could see.

"Aunt Ro! Aunt Ro!" Ry knew he was interrupting her, since he could actually see her speaking. Who knew that you could actually see that? "Aunt Ro, I can see!"

She stopped talking and turned to look at him. He knew her hair was three colours, but he didn't know what colours they were. Her eyes were a light grey, but a different grey from the colour at the roots of her hair. "Ry, what happened to your eyes?" Aunt Ro walked over to him and knelt in front of him. "The cloudiness is gone."

Ry grinned. "When there's Everblaze around, I can see! What colours are your hair? I think they're pretty on you, but I don't know what they're called."

To her credit, Ro took the news in stride, barely giving the flame curled around Marella's forearm a second glance. "It's two different shades of blue, dark blue at the bottom and light blue in the middle here. When it grows out enough, I'll add teal to it."

"It's pretty."

"Thanks, kid."

Ry looked over her shoulder. "I can see five ogres, but which one is Dimitar? I want to see what he looks like before Aunt Marella has to make the fire go away."

She stood and pointed to an ogre sitting down. "That's him."

"He looks strong. And he has a really big sword. Ogres are smaller than I thought. But I'm small and I couldn't see how much space there was between the ground and me when I was being carried."

King Dimitar stood up and walked over to them. He crossed his arms and looked down at Ry. "You interrupted an important war meeting, young man."

"I know I did and I'm sorry. But I know Everblaze is dangerous and I wanted to see what you looked like before Aunt Marella has to put it away."

Dimitar smiled. "I understand. I have to finish this war meeting and then if your aunt is willing to hold on to the Everblaze that long, I'll be available."

"Okay!" Ry waved at the other ogres and ran out of the room again. As soon as he stepped out of the room, his sight vanished, replaced again by the heat sensing. He flinched, reaching up to cover his eyes. "A-Aunt Marella, where'd you go?"

"I'm right here, kiddo." He heard footsteps walking up behind him and then his sight returned. "It looks like you can't get too far away from it without losing your sight. Is there anything else you want to do before I have to let go of it?"

Ry bit his lip. There were so many places and things and people he wanted to see, but he knew that Everblaze could be hard to hold sometimes and he didn't want her to lose control.

"I want to see my parents. But especially my mother."

She took his hand with her free one. "I have some pictures I can show you."

"Okay." He followed her to her room. Every time they turned a new corner or someone walked by them, Ry couldn't keep the grin off his face. It was a marvel to him that every person looked different. Before, it had all been the same roughly shaped blotch of heat.

Aunt Marella opened a small chest of papers and pulled out a teal notebook with the delicate embroidery of a moonlark on it. It was worn at the edges and some of the pages were creased and stained. Ry closed his eyes and felt the cover of the book. "Oh I remember this book! Mama had it on her nightstand. She said it was her memory log."

Aunt Marella waited for him to open his eyes before she opened the book to a few specific pages. "There isn't one of your parents individually, but there's plenty in here."

Ry couldn't keep the huge smile off his face. He had no idea who these people were, but he knew they were family. Aunt Marella stopped him from turning a page. "That's your mom there."

He stared at the blonde woman on the page. She was smiling back at him, brown eyes bright and shimmering in the sunlight. Ry trailed his finger down the edge of the skirt of her dress, a deep orangish burgundy, with gold leafy vines curling around the neckline, lending the gold in her deep, soulful eyes a playful tone.

Aunt Marella pointed to the dark haired man standing next to his mother. "That's your father."

Ry could hear the phantom mirth the scene contained. His father had been caught mid-laugh, teal eyes sparkling and crinkled at the corners. He had an arm around his wife's waist and his dark blue tunic went well with her dress.

"Wow." Ry whispered. "These are my parents?"

"Yeah." Marella answered.

"They look happy." He traced the outline of his mama's face. "I don't remember a lot of happiness in our house. Mama and Dad were upset a lot of the time and they would fight more than normal, Jolie said. But the fights more were Mama getting upset over something small and Papa trying to calm her down and mostly letting her shout until she felt a little better and then they went to bed early. I think they were worried about us, especially Jo-Jo."

"I'm sorry about that. Around the time you were two years old, we started finding evidence that the Neverseen were gathering strength again. Sophie was often extremely stressed and tired. We all were. I, unfortunately, have to leave. I've got some previous obligations. Sorry kiddo."

"It's okay. I'll see you later."

Aunt Marella hugged him with one arm and left. Ry sighed as his world dissolved into the slight glow from everything that produced heat. He was able to put the book he was still holding away, but everything seemed so dull now that he had experienced the world of colour that every other elf inhabited. It was a truly beautiful thing and he was beginning to understand why the Neverseen were going to such great lengths. If that world was one he saw every single second of his life, he would want to protect it with everything he had too.

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**Only six more chapters of this thing! It's mind blowing! When I'd originally published the first chapter, I had no idea how long it would be!**

**Don't forget to review before you go! Reviewers will get teasers for the next chapter. (Let me know if you don't want one.)**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	22. Bringing New Light

**I'm so sorry! My internet wasn't working for most of the day yesterday and by the time it was, I totally forgotten. But it's here now.**

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Alvar sighed. He didn't know why anything surprised him anymore. Honestly, he had a hand in all of this starting and a lot of it was directly or indirectly his fault. But at the same time, he was tired. Just so bone-tired of all of this. No matter how much emphasis he put on how tired of this battle he was, it couldn't touch how he felt.

Jolie's book lay open in his lap. When she'd come running to him and shoved the page in his face, with no heed for who might be watching, he'd known she'd found something big, but not this big. Not something that could change the face of the earth. A new power she might have, and a discovery he didn't know what to do with.

The writing on the two facing pages went back and forth between Sophie's messy-but-neat cursive, Biana's loops and swirls, Dex's small, neat lettering, and Keefe's barely-readable-to-anyone-but-him chicken scratch as the book had been passed between them. Alvar assumed the careful, smooth cursive belonged to his brother, but it'd been so long and his handwriting looked so similar to their father's, he didn't know for sure.

_None of us are sure if you have this power or if it passed you by. But you are our best chance. We don't know much, other than that was what the Black Swan got every time they combined the two genetic codes. We're betting everything on this._

_Yeah, no pressure there. But we believe in you, Miss Mini-Moonlark. You can do this. I can't promise I'll stay serious, as you can probably tell with the numerous notes I jotted down for Sophie to find. If she ever gets the chance._

_There isn't much research on this . I've done my best, looking back into some of my old things. But there is something you should know. I've already told the adults, but you should know too, in case someone tries something like this again. You probably know about the ability restricting circlet I made in Level Three. For some reason, I kept the pieces after I dismantled it in the hopes I could figure out where I went wrong. When I went back and compared it to my original blueprint, I discovered it had been modified after I gave it to the Council. My original design created a telepathic force field around someone's mind, meaning no one and nothing gets in or out. Harmless, painless, and wouldn't have blocked any other abilities. The circlet that Sophie was forced to wear had components added that would attack and destroy the part of the brain responsible for abilities and skills and if I hadn't removed it, it probably would have killed her within the year._

_We had no idea. But it appears that someone on the Council or works closely with them added a type of rare magical ice known to be able to block and destroy magical powers. If I'm correct, Dex also found traces of shadowflux in a few of the added pieces._

_I did. Needless to say, I was shocked. It was likely done by one of the Banished Seven, as the probability of Titan dragons being able to access this kind of power is extremely high. However, we don't know if they were aware of the full extent of the situation so early. But the fact that it was modified in between me giving it to the Council and Sophie being forced to wear it still stands. While I had no inkling of my draconic heritage at the time, I somehow knew that Sophie may be at risk, so I made sure to add several failsafes to keep it from being harmful. I am thankful they did work to some extent, except for the ones that were removed or destroyed, of course._

_I hope this hasn't been too much of a shock for you, Jolie. We are doing more research and there may be more information in later pages of this book._

Alvar knew with absolute certainly that if Dex had been able to bring this information before the Council, or at least to someone with enough authority to get something done, it would have caused a massive scandal and possibly Councillors being removed. That was probably why he had been the first to go. Once the Banished Seven knew he knew, they would have had to make sure the information died, because it could throw the world into chaos.

Jolie taped the copied form diagram and translation to her wall and assumed the starting stance. Some of the forms in her mother's book were difficult, but she was determined to learn all of them. Some of them had instructions in languages she didn't recognize, so she had to make do with her mother's translations.

Most of the forms were small enough to be done in her bedroom. Occasionally, she had to take an obscurer into the backyard so she didn't kick the window, but she made it work.

This form had instructions in an ancient Chinese dialect, but he mother had translated for her and told her what the form was.

_This is not a form you are likely to ever use. It is a waterbending form and as you are not a Hydrokinetic or a waterbender as far as I know, you have no need to learn how to control water. But this will help you learn to balance yourself and flow through other forms you do need to know. Waterbending focuses more on the flow of water and less on the control. It meshes well with most other disciplines, especially abilities. I know you doing very well._

The form was simple, but required a certain amount of flexibility and she fell over several times.

After the fifth thud on the hardwood floor, Amy came upstairs to make sure she was okay.

"You seem determined to give yourself bruises, kiddo."

"I'm working on a waterbending form and it's harder than it looks."

Aunt Amy walked over and looked at the page. "If this is the kind of stuff you're learning, why don't I just enroll you in a martial arts class. This looks really similar to a lot of the stuff I remember doing when a, I think it was kung fu, teacher came to my high school and taught PE for a day."

"Actually, that sounds like a great idea." Jolie stood up and pulled her skirt back down. "And they have padded floors."

"Yeah. You didn't tear this out of the book, did you?"

"No, I copied it with the printer." She pulled them off the wall and folded the tape over. "I would never do that to any book. But I'm pretty sure it's made to be indestructible, just like anything else Mom and Dad wanted to keep. Grandpa Kesler said all of us together could be worse than the triplets and we weren't ever purposefully destructive. Just overwhelming."

Aunt Amy smiled. "You guys were angelic children, you just got excited sometimes and forgot your combined strength was a lot. Just one of you mauling me is a lot different than all seven of you jumping on me at once."

Jolie slid the papers into a file folder in her desk where she kept all the copies. The book was in the hollow space under one of her floorboards, but she and her aunt felt it would be safe enough to have bits and pieces of information out without anything to tie it together.

"Can you go look one up? It's winter, so they won't have a ton of new students."

"Only if you stop trying to break something." Aunt Amy left, closing the door behind her.

Jolie walked over to her window and opened it. There was a butterfly lying still on the windowsill.

"Oh you poor thing. Did you get caught in a spiderweb?" She reached out and picked it up. She felt something stir inside her mind and the butterfly crawled onto her thumb and flew away. "Huh. Just needed a little help I guess."

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**Again, I'm so sorry I forgot to publish yesterday! As with all my chapters, reviewers get teasers for the next chapter, let me know if you don't want one.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	23. Illusions of a False Past

**No, this is not the big Chapter 23, that is next chapter.**

**BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I WILL NOT BE PUBLISHING THROUGH THE MONTH OF APRIL. I am participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, which is almost identical to their event in November, but you set your own word count. I will be attempting to finish my sci-fi novel Rediscovering Humanity and if I do, it will be available for sale on Amazon. So, this is the last update you're getting from me until the end of April. I'm sorry. You'll have to wait until May to find out what happens.**

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If there was one thing Juline was glad for, it was that the quintuplet never swapped identities. When they had their capes with their names on them, they never swapped them. Not once. It made making sure she had all of them far easier. Still, she was constantly counting the number of blonde heads around her, making sure she had one-two-three-four-five.

"Mira, give that back!"

"Nuh uh, it's mine!"

"Guys, it's just a shoe!"

"SHUT UP DESSY."

That didn't make Rimeshire any less noisy. They were, surprisingly, quieter than the triplets, but as soon as something changed hands that wasn't supposed to, their argument exploded into a five-way shouting match and would become a sore point for days.

"We have six pairs of the same shoes! Find another one!"

"No! That is my shoe and I want it back!"

"GRANDMA JULINE! MAKE THEM SHUT UP!"

"THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM, LUCKY. MIRA HAS MY SHOE AND I WANT IT BACK!"

"WELL STOP SHOUTING AT LEAST I'M TRYING TO READ!"

Juline sighed and walked upstairs. It was a struggle to be heard above their bickering, but she got across, "Girls, what is the problem?"

One of them huffed. "Mira stole my shoe and won't give it back."

Juline squinted at the embroidery on her collar. "Faith, is it really that big of a deal? You're just going back to Havenfield. You don't need to be dressed up."

"But I want that shoe."

"Faith."

"Fine. I'll wear another pair." she grumbled.

They finished getting ready in relative silence, except for the occasional squabble. Juline gathered them all in a line outside and pulled out her pathfinder.

When they leapt to Havenfield, she immediately knew something was off. Years of being married to Kesler had taught her when ancient draconic magic was afoot; and this magic was not the benevolent kind.

"Girls, stay on your toes. Something's not right."

Edaline came out of the house, smiling. She didn't come running or show any signs one would expect after seeing her granddaughters for the first time in two years.

"Juline, it's great to see you! Who are these lovely girls?"

Instantly, she tensed up. "They're your granddaughters, Eda."

Edaline's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"They're your granddaughters, Edaline. Sophie's daughters."

"Who's Sophie?"

Juline felt Miracle contact her. Grandma Juline, what's going on?

I don't know.

"She's your daughter. You adopted her, about twenty-five years ago. Remember?"

"No…" A light of remembrance flashed in her eye. "Oh, wait…no. Should I remember?"

"Yes. Do you remember how excited Dex was to have a cousin his age? He was absolutely thrilled when I told him you were adopting her."

"You sound delusional, Juline. What are you talking about? Who is Dex? Unless I'm remembering wrong, your son's names are Lex and Rex."

"Dex is older than the triplets by a year and a half."

"Who is Dex?"

"He's my son." Juline was firmly panicking by now.

Edaline looked as nervous as she was. "No he's not."

No. No no no no no no. She forced a smile. "Guess I better go home and count my children. Make sure they're all there." Juline jammed the facet for home into her pathfinder and leapt away with the girls before Edaline could reply.

She went to Everglen alone and met the same wall, but so much worse. Alden and Della had no idea who she was. Worse, they didn't remember Fitz or Biana. The only child they remembered was Alvar. She was even threatened with arrest when she mentioned she was a member of the Black Swan in an effort to get them to remember.

Again, she felt the heavy influence of Titan dragon magic. It wasn't the aura of light cheerfulness that surrounded Rimeshire, thanks to Kelser. This was heavy, and thick. Suffocating. She knew who was responsible.

Kesler had told her all about the Banished Seven, two of whom had been his older siblings. This felt like Tyrginth's handiwork. The brother directly above Kesler, who had a propensity for telepathic meddling and bending others to his will. Which lent a lot of credence to their theory that one of the Banished Seven was on the Council and this new information all but confirmed it was Tyrginth. The only question was who.

The quintuplets were understandably terrified when she got back. Juline hurried them inside.

Hope took the lead, as she usually did when things were stressful. "What's going on? What happened to Grammy Eda and Grandpa Grady?"

Juline sighed. "Does anyone have a piece of string?"

Miracle retrieved one.

"Okay." She took it and pulled a small pair of scissors out of her desk. "So Washing is like this." She tied a slip knot in it. "Give it a tug and you have the memory back. Shattering is like tying a knot." Juline tied a quick square knot. "It's more difficult, but you can still get it back, mostly undamaged. But when memories are Obliviated," She cut a small section out of the string and tied the ends together. "They're not swept under a proverbial rug or smashed and the pieces left behind. They're removed completely. You can't get those memories back because they aren't there to get back. That's what happened to your grandparents. Their memories of you, your parents, Dex, everyone, is gone."

Either Faith or Fortune started crying. Juline reached for the crying child and pulled her onto her lap.

"What's going to happen to us?" Destiny asked.

Juline rubbed Fortune's back. "You'll stay with me and we'll figure something out. I promise."

* * *

**First Saturday in May is the BIG CHAPTER. As for Such A Twisted Legacy, there are three of four more chapters of that to be expected, all through May. After those, I'll be working on the prequel to this story, the name of which I will reveal at the end of this book.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	24. The Moonlark Will Not Fall

**I'M ALIIIIIIIIIVEEEEEEE! I'm back! WITH THE LONG AWAITED CHAPTER! AND A QUESTION! It's at the end of the chapter, you'll have to wait for it.**

**Chapter 23! Enjoy!**

* * *

Jolie helped Lucine down the porch steps.

"Careful. Is your leg okay?"

"Just cramped up is all. I have to get used to walking again. Where are we going?"

Jolie pulled open the car door and showed the blonde woman how to fasten her seatbelt. "I don't think it has a name. It's a valley in the Neutral Territories, away from civilization. So nothing gets hurt if something goes wrong. I'm meeting with the Neverseen. We're ending this today. The last members of the Black Swan against the last members of the Neverseen. One side is going to die today, and I will do everything in my power to make sure it's not us."

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"You're just fine, aren't you? And so is Uncle. I can do this. I've never done it on a large scale like this, but I'm confident I can. My mother believed I could. So did my dad. I'm going to prove them right."

Lucine smiled, blue eyes carrying the same sparkle as her mother's.

* * *

Jolie stood firm on the barren ground, trying to not show how much her knees were shaking. The stale wind threw small wisps of dark hair around the edge of her face. The rocky sides of the gully concealed Aunt Amy and Uncle Alvar, but with guns. She herself had a pistol on her hip that she knew she could draw, aim and fire in less than three seconds. They had done everything they could to make sure this last day ended in their favor.

She could see black-cloaked figures approaching from several hundred feet away. She counted five of them.

A large hand squeezed her right one. "You've got this, Jolie."

* * *

Alvar adjusted his grip on his pistol nervously. He hated leaving his niece relatively unprotected, but assured himself that even if reinforcements didn't show up, he and Amy, both with long-range sniper rifles, would be able to cover Jolie's escape. Even if it meant they wouldn't make it out.

She was barely fourteen and stood in between two figures, one a head taller than her, the other around the same height, all three cloaked. Their cloaks looked similar to the Neverseen's, except for instead of a white eye on the sleeve, there was a diving moonlark embroidered in silver on the back. You would only see it if the light struck the fabric just right.

Jolie was too young to be wrapped up in all this. But without her, all the good left in the lost Cities wouldn't have a chance at survival. He would do what he could to assist and support her. It was the least he could do, a small amount to put toward atoning for the part he had played in his brother and sister's deaths.

* * *

Amy sighed, checking the distance through the scope for the third time in thirty seconds. She'd had dealings with the Neverseen before, but Sophie had made sure she was never in any real danger. A situation without any stupidly overpowered backup was tense to say the least. Alvar had told him Jolie would come through, and she trusted him, whether or not she should.

* * *

Jolie took a deep breath. It was now or never.

The Neverseen stopped about a hundred feet in front of her. She counted five of them, standing in a line. She'd learned to identify various members by their stature and someone was missing.

"Vespera's not here." She murmured to her companions.

"Who is Vespera?" Lucine asked.

Jolie gripped her hand. "She's the leader of the Neverseen. I'm pretty sure she's the one responsible for everything that's happened. Her and the rest of the Banished Seven."

Gethen's taunting voice echoed across the space between them. "Is little Jolie" -he spat her name as if it were poisonous to him- "going to tell us why she thinks a child can order the Neverseen to a meeting?"

"You've got this." The man on her left whispered.

Jolie took a deep breath. "Your turn."

Lucine threw back her hood. Long blonde hair flowed to the middle of her back and turquoise eyes glared at the cloaked figures. "That answer depends on which Jolie you are speaking to."

* * *

Alvar almost dropped his pistol. He, like everyone in the Neverseen, knew exactly who Jolie Ruewen was. When his niece had told him what she could do, he'd taken it with a generous grain of salt. There was no telling what was exaggeration. But standing down in the that valley, fully flesh-and-blood, with burn marks scattered across her face, was _Jolie Lucine Ruewen_.

* * *

Jolie kept her chin high, waiting for the shock at her aunt's announcement to die down a slight fraction.

"That is impossible!" Fintan yelled. "How…"

"Your Everblaze isn't as infallible as you first thought!" Kenric tossed his hood back, the fire that had taken his life the first time now glaring in his eyes.

Jolie gripped their hands, reaching deep into herself and feeling that pull inside her mind. Instead of pushing it back, she let it out, feeling the great rush of power flow though her. Her knees buckled and she fell, relying on those next to her to keep her upright.

There was a great crack in reality and a hole split in the sky, edged with gold and shocks of lightening shooting out from it. Beyond was the void and the dead. Jolie flung her consciousness into that void, searching, searching, searching. It wasn't long, though it felt like an eternity, before she hear a familiar warm voice calling to her from a darker part of the void. She wrapped her mind around that pulsing spark and pulled it over and through the boundary between the living and the dead. Earth and fire flowed into the shape of a person, but the amount of force flowing through herself was making her vision blurry.

Lucine dropped Jolie's hand and it was replaced by a familiar scarred one and the tingle of power joined her mind with her mother's. Together, they were able to pull two or three minds from the void at a time. Elements flowed and pieced together. Jolie felt the earth come alive as her father's life-force was freed from the darkness.

Shadow and water flowed together, rising to meet their bearers. The Empathetic energy around her snapped and crackled, accepting its single bender.

Deeper still into the void they plunged, searching. Biana was more difficult. Her draconic heritage tied her to the void. It took more effort than the others to break the ties and pull her back.

Despite the aid, Jolie screamed, almost running out of power as she wedged her mind in between Dex's mind and the land of death. Without her parents supporting her, she may well have been trapped. But with the golden glow surrounding her, she felt the ties loosen and her Uncle Dex sprang out of the void, body reforming as he grew closer to the surface.

Jolie pulled back into her own body and collapsed against her parents. She would never be sure when they fused their power with hers, but she knew without their aid this would not have been possible. She saw standing next to her all that she had lost. All the darkness had tried to claim. This time, she had won. This time, she was stronger.

She couldn't hear what the Neverseen were saying, but she went to stand, knowing she had to get up, had to keep fighting. This wasn't over. This would not be over until the blood of the Neverseen ran red in the dirt.

"No."

Her father's voice cut through the fog of mental strain. "You've done your part."

"This is our fight now. Rest."

Her mother may have said more, but that was all Jolie heard before passing out.

* * *

Sophie took a deep breath for the first time in three horrible years. She felt the currents of the wind around her and gathered them to her will. Her Cognate bond hummed in the background, a constant source of strength. She clenched her fist and felt the air respond. After all these years of waiting, it was finally time.

Biana beat her to the punch. Wreathed in Everblaze, brilliant blue scales glittering, she let out a painfully loud screech-roar. Blue flames burst from her maw, bathing the Neverseen in the heat of her bloodrage. The only reason they were still alive was Fintan's feeble shields of flame

"Let me have Gethen." Sophie whispered. "He's mine."

The ground under her feet supported her every step. She reached deep for that elemental power she had not called in over a decade. It responded eagerly, lifting her hair on a gentle breeze. She closed her eyes, honing the air carefully.

The form she used a simple, but sent Gethen fly with a single blow. She focused a mental blade a sliced deep into his mind, seizing every thought in the fabric of his mind and tearing it to shreds.

The battlefield around her was bathed in flame, gold and blue. She didn't have to look to know Dex had taken his most powerful form. Augmented by ancient dragon blood, his full-size dragon form stood over a hundred feet at the shoulder. She felt the flap of his wings and lungs larger than she was drawing breath for another barrage. The absolute fury of blood-rage, the most dangerous state a dragon could be in, when their power was at its greatest. And it was high noon, when the sun was strongest, shining its fire on those who relied on it for life.

Biana's eyes had lost all form, merely fire trailing from the sockets. She was high above them. For her, this was not mere battle. This was a hunt. And a hunt she was going to bring to its bloody conclusion.

Sophie pulled back after making sure Gethen was not getting up again. She had taken her price in blood and it was best to get out of the way of the angry Titan dragons.

When she turned around, the sight that met her eyes was both heartbreaking and reassuring beyond all words. Fitz had his eltule steel sword out, standing over their daughter, defending her from what bodyguards the Neverseen had thought to bring. She had hoped to never see him have to fight again, but seeing her husband defending their daughter with all the strength of the earth, it was not just knowing he was alive and well, it was a feeling she could best describe as the incredible love and faith she had in him. They were going to win. They were going to root out the last traces of darkness in the Lost Cities and they were going to do it together.

She blasted the tainted ogres away from them as she walked over to him, giving him a respite. He was breathing hard, face flushed and splattered with ogre blood. Fitz looked up at her and she knew that never in her life had his eyes seemed so beautiful to her.

Neither of them had to reach out telepathically for the other's thoughts. Fitz sheathed his sword and pulled Sophie against him. She hugged him as tightly as she could, relishing the feeling of her husband's arms around her.

"I thought I would never see you again."

"I'm right here and I am never leaving again." Sophie murmured against his neck.

Fitz pulled back, eyes sweeping over her face. He didn't reply and he didn't have to. He pressed his lips against hers in a frantic kiss. She melted into him, welcoming any feeling after the emptiness and darkness of the void.

When they separated for air, there was only one thing on either of their minds.

"I love you." Neither of them knew who said it first and that wasn't important. They had each other's back and neither of them were ever going to leave again.

Sophie slid one of her hands into his and turned to face the battlefield again. Dex and Biana had made short work of the remaining Neverseen members between them. Sophie waved a hand and pulled all the oxygen away from the fires, extinguishing them instantly. She wasn't sure where either dragon had gone, but they wouldn't probably be back when they had had their fill of each other.

A loud voice yelled across the intervening space, startling her, but she recognized it.

"THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME!" Rocks slid down the side of the valley as Alvar ran towards them, whooping, "I wouldn't never joined the Neverseen if I knew my baby sister had THAT up her sleeve!"

Sophie smiled. "You sound like a five-year-old."

Fitz tensed next to her. Sophie sent a soothing telepathic message over their Cognate bond.

_It's okay, really. Did you figure out my message?_

_Yes we did. It was a shock and I did blame you for a bit for not telling me._ He looked away.

_But do you understand why I didn't say anything? Why I couldn't say anything?_

_Yes. I'm sorry that I ever made you think you couldn't tell me. You're my wife. No matter what, I will understand. I may not like it, but I will understand._

_Thank you._

Sophie grinned at Alvar. "We did it. It's over. We're free. Completely. Permanently."

"Free." he echoed. "I'm not sure if I remember how to be free."

"You and me both." Fitz smiled at his brother. "But we've got all the time in the world to figure out how."

Running footsteps approached from the other direction. Amy came flying down the side of the gully and almost knocked Sophie over.

"It worked! I can't believe it worked!"

Sophie hugged her sister tightly, almost forgetting to compensate for the fact that her baby sister was taller than she was. "I missed you Amy. I missed you so much."

"When Jolie told me she'd brought a butterfly back to life and thought she could do the same for people, I didn't believe her. But when she was able to pull it off, and in my backyard no less, I thought, we might just have a shot at this!"

"Are you the Moonlark?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Sophie turned around.

She recognized the blonde young woman, but she had only seen her in pictures.

"Jolie? Jolie Ruewen?"

"Yes. I was the test. Your wonderful daughter, who I assume is named after me, told me what happened after I died."

"Wow." Sophie thought her face might split in half from the amount of smiling she was doing. "I really didn't know if the calculations we made were right. We were betting everything on Jolie having this ability. Although, that might become a problem. You're both Jolie."

"Your sister and daughter refer to me by my middle name, Lucine."

"Lucky there's only one of me."

Sophie whirled around and met the eyes of a red-haired Councillor she never thought she'd see again.

"_Kenric?!_"

That day must have been labeled National Day for Joyous Reunions. Sophie flew into his arms, dropping Fitz's hand for a few seconds.

"Hello again, Miss Foster."

She groaned, letting go of him and taking Fitz's hand again. Sophie held up her left hand. "I can't count how many times I've heard that incorrectly. It's actually Mrs. Vacker now."

Kenric grinned. "So you two did get together. I wasn't sure if that would ever happen. How is Oralie doing?"

Alvar nudged Sophie's arm. "Speaking of Oralie, you guys should probably get her and everyone else out of the Lost Cities. Things are probably about to get messy and when there's giant dragons who don't care about collateral damage, she could easily be hurt or killed."

"But where would we put them all?" Sophie's military mind was rusty, but still working. "It would be easier to just take the confrontation away from the Lost Cities. Keep everyone safe."

Fitz squeezed her hand. "But Alvar is still right. We need to get family and friends out. Even if we do our best there still might be some casualties and we need to protect our families. Do you have space, Alvar?"

"Not much. I can take Kenric and Oralie, let them get reacquainted. We're isolated, so they won't be found."

"Is that okay with you, Kenric?" Sophie knelt, gently lifting Jolie as she began to stir.

He nodded. "I've apparently missed a lot. How long have I been gone?"

"Not as long as I have." Lucine said. "Jolie and Amy told me I was dead for almost forty years. You only have twenty to twenty-five years of history to catch up on."

"That is more than I thought. Is Oralie still on the council?"

"If she is, not for much longer. I'll explain on the way." Fitz hoisted Jolie into his arms. "But right now, we need to get ourselves situated. The Banished Seven aren't going to kill themselves."

* * *

The next week was an exhausting one for Sophie. The amount that could happen in three years was staggering. Her eldest was fourteen, all grown up into a wonderful young woman. The quintuplet were ten. Ten years old. They had mastered their abilities and were the perfect fighting team. And Ry, her little baby boy, was seven almost eight. For her, his fourth birthday had been two weeks ago. Marella, after a teary reunion, had told her that Everblaze gave him his sight and the thought of it made her heart want to leap out of her chest.

Sadly, the children had been moved to a safe and secure location until after the battle. As much as it pained her to not see them immediately, what was another two weeks, really? After three years of absence, two weeks really wasn't much. But it felt like an eternity.

"So what's our game plan?"

Sophie, Fitz, Dex, Biana, Keefe, Linh, Tam, Marella, Alvar, and Kesler sat around a large table. They had taken a week to reunite and catch everyone up to the present.

Kesler stood. Now that he no longer had to hide, Sophie could see the barely-controlled fire lurking just under his skin. His eyes were a bright gold instead of the periwinkle she had been used to. It made her wonder how she had ever mistaken him for just another elf. "If I can still write in Ancient Draconic, I will challenge Tyrginth to a máchi timís. Sophie should be able to translate that particular phrase."

She nodded. "'Battle of honor'. But won't he refuse? He knows what we're up to."

"My brother? No he won't. It is a challenge of his honor as a drajatan. He still fancies himself a member of Clan Cliffbreaker. He will answer my challenge, with the rest of the Banished Seven. He is not so arrogant as to meet a challenge without insurance. Maybe we'll finally find out who they are."

Fitz sighed. "But what do we do then? You can handle your brother, but what about the other six? You can't fight seven Titan dragons at the same time, especially if they're all as powerful as you."

"I believe that if we work together and time it correctly, the eight of you can handle it. But I believe I have figured out which of the Seven took the name Vespera. I had an elder sister in Clan Lightbreath. She took our mother's clan while Tyrginth and I chose our father's. Her true name is Luminence, the Lifeleech. She was not a powerful dragoness, hence her propensity for manipulation and delegating tasks to more powerful underlings. But she is not to be underestimated, as you well know. Your only other true danger is Nova. He is Clan Nightbearer and has likely taken the identity a powerful Shade. I do know he is capable of casting powerful illusions and I've seen him cover entire cities in darkness in seconds."

Tam sat up straighter. "I can handle him with Keefe's help. One of my main teachers was a dragon of Clan Nightbearer. I can take him down."

Kelser gave him a grave nod. "Don't get yourself killed doing it. Jolie is extremely weak from the battle last week and may not be able to bring you back. That goes for all of you. All we need to do is take down one of them. They're going to come in their elvin forms, so we'll be able to pick them off afterward. If Tyrginth goes down, so does most of their brainpower. I know all of you are a bit rusty on your skills, Sophie especially. Do whatever you need to do and get yourselves as ready as you can be."

They dispersed. Sophie took Fitz's hand as they walked out. The halls of Dawnfire had undergone a frantic cleaning a few hours before, but the only thing she could focus on was her husband.

"Are you ready to go home?"

"I don't know." She watched him adjust the facet in his pathfinder. "I haven't been home in such a long time. What if it doesn't feel like home anymore?"

Fit smiled at her, pulling her close as he lifted the crystal to the light. "Don't worry. I think I can help with that."

* * *

**BIG QUESTION! The chapter after this one isn't finished, but it's stupid long. Over 12,000 words right now and getting longer. Do you want me to publish it in segments, or wait until it's finished to publish, even if that's more than a week? If I publish in segments, I'll publish a few thousand words at a time every week and then combine them when it's done. Or I can put all my effort into finishing the chapter and publish it whenever I finish it. It is up to you guys. But you have to decide by next Saturday or I'll wait to publish until it's done.**

**But after that chapter, I'll be back to my regular schedule. Such A Twisted Legacy may be late, I'm sorry if it is. But there's another wedding in the works. If you don't ship Bianex, you may want to skip that chapter.**

**I'm working on more oneshots. I'm hoping to do the gang experiencing human holidays. (Some America-specific, because that's where I am). If any of you have suggestions you want to see them experience, tell me in the comments!**

**Reviews get teasers for the next chapter, just let me know if you don't want one.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	25. End of an Era Part One

**You guys decided**** split it up and publish part of it every week, so that's what I'm doing. I may or may not combine them when this story is done. But this has extended it from two more chapters after this to seven or possibly eight more chapters.**

* * *

Sophie swung at the target dummy and her sword slashed straight through the wood, slicing it in half. Sandor sighed. "How many more of my training dummies are you going to destroy before you deem you skill up to your former level?"

"That should be it. I've done all I can with the time I have. Besides, I have to make a few stops on the way." Sophie sheathed her sword and sprinted for the sheer drop that gave Cliffside its name. Teleporting was a piece of cake. She dove headfirst for the rocky shoreline, battered by waves. Reality split in front of her and she landed on her feet in a stone courtyard. There were dwarves bustling around her and only a few, mostly children, stopped to look when she landed. Most of them simply moved out of her way.

The great cobble courtyard was lined by market stalls and shops. Many dwarves, mostly mothers with their children, were out early to get the best deals, squinting at prices in the pale rays of sunlight making its way though the mountaintops.

The guards at the gate let her pass without a word, slapping a closed fist over their hearts in a salute as she passed.

The dwarves of the Majestachyny Mountains were old friends of hers. It was they who had made their weapons and armour, years ago during the first war. Now she was here again for a new commission.

"Commander Ruewen! How good to see you again!"

"Lord Lishi, the favour is returned. Do you have my order?"

The dwarf grinned, stroking his elaborately braided beard. "Do I have it! When you told me you needed a battle-axe for the ogre princess Romhilda herself, I took it upon myself to return to the forge and oversee its creation. Sadly,"-he patted his ample belly-"I am no longer fit enough wield those massive hammers. But it is done!"

Sophie smiled. "If you will show it to me?"

The older dwarf-lord lead her to one of the weapon storage rooms. On two metal hooks by itself was a massive battle-axe, easily six feet from the knob of metal at the end of the pole to the hooked barb facing the opposite direction from the head of the axe. The actual blade was nearly a foot square of three or four inch thick steel. Delicate engravings ran down the length of the hardened oak pole with metal poured into the grooves to strengthen the wood.

"That's technically a halberd, not a battle-axe."

Lord Lishi laughed. "I do not think Princess Ro will much mind. She can bash things with the flat of the axe, slice things with the edge, and stab things with the bayonet on the end. I would not suggest attempt to lift it yourself. It is not made for elven capabilities and might weigh as much as you do."

She grinned. "I will take that into account. How long is it?"

"Longer than you are tall. It's an impressive weapon. It has all the right enchantments. Anyone who swings hard enough can cut right through a Titan dragon's scales."

"That is exactly what I need. How does one remove it from the wall?" Sophie leaned one fist on her hip. "It seems a bit high up for a dwarf."

He laughed, rotund form jiggling. "We use stepladders and elves' fancy powers to get them up and down. You have telekinesis, no?"

Sophie slowly lifted the axe off its pegs and down to the floor. "That I do, Lord Lishi, that I do. Well, you have done me a great service that will not be forgotten."

"Don't worry about it. Yer getting rid of those massive bloodscales that have been a blight on dragon kind for thousands of years. It's thanks enough."

"Regardless. I will be sure to mention to Queen Emela your involvement and see to it she rewards you in some way. I must be on my way rather quickly, so I'm afraid I cannot stay." They walked back out to the gates, Sophie floating the battle-axe behind them.

She pulled the air around her up and launched herself up onto one of the mountain peaks. She never had to fall as far in Adeala before the tug inside her mind activated and split the sky in front of her, dropping her into Cliffside's training ground.

Everyone else was out of site, even though she could hear voices. Sophie followed the sound to the archery range, where Biana was showing off her skill with a bow. She waited for them to finish before she tapped Ro on the shoulder.

"Got something for you."

Ro jumped. "I forgot how quiet you are! You scared me."

Sophie grinned. "So much for your 'superior ogre senses'."

"Is the giant battle-axe that's bigger than you are for me?"

"As a matter of fact, it is." Sophie floated the axe over to Ro. "It's too big and awkward for me to hold, but it should suit you well."

Ro took the weapon out of the air and grinned. "I don't think I've ever held an axe so well suited to me. And I'm a bit of an axe expert. Where did you get this?"

Sophie stepped out of swinging range to give the ogre princess room to test her new plaything. "It was a commission. When we're fighting giant dragons, you're a bit of a squishy target and someone, usually Keefe, ends up babysitting you. So I thought I'd give you something that would allow you to hold your own. That'll give us two more fighters and make the odds a little more even."

"I would complain about that comment, but you are totally right. When it comes to fighting mountain size dragons, I don't have fancy element powers to sock them in the face with, but now I have a big fancy axe! This will be awesome. Can it get through their scales though?"

"Yes it can." Sophie twirled her own sword around her hand. "I'd offer to spar, but I think you have the upper hand again."

Ro gave the axe a few test swings. "Man. The balance on this is superb. I think you're right! I get to keep this after the battle right?"

"Of course! It's a gift."

"Sweet. My dad is going to be so jealous." Ro set the end against the ground. The tip of the bayonet came up almost to the top of her head. "I'm gonna need to make a sheath or something for this. Carrying it around will get tiring. Hey, where'd everybody go?"

Sophie looked around. "Probably still have things to do. We want to make the odds as even as possible going into this. As long as we take out Tyrginth, we'll have removed their seat of power and influence on the Council. And since they'll have revealed their identities to us, we'll be able to fight and cripple or kill them one by one."

"Do we know which one is the big guy?" Ro started walking back toward the house.

Sophie matched her pace. "Kesler will take care of him. Our job is to keep the other six away from them and kill them if we can. I do know that he looks similar to Kesler, which makes sense since they're brothers. But even with a century or two difference in age, Tyrginth's been sitting on his butt for a lot longer than Kesler and so will have lost a lot of his skill and a lot of his strength. Possibly his ability to fly."

"Which one should I take?"

"Probably Eiommod. As the youngest and weakest dragon, who, if I recall correctly, hatched with a deformed wing, she's grounded and your closest match. She's also the only one who can't cause much damage if she survives and escapes."

"Okay." Ro grinned, looking up and down her new weapon. "I hate to kill a cripple though. It's not super sporting."

Sophie shrugged. "Just because she can't fly doesn't mean she's not dangerous. Dragons still have claws and teeth and fire. And we have to hold this during the day, so she'll be able to draw power from Everblaze since the sun will be out. So expect a good fight."

"Cool. Even if I don't kill her, I still want some sort of trophy to prove that I did it, like a scale or a claw. For bragging rights, ya know?"

"Feel free to take one. I'd go for a tooth. They're not super tough since a lot of their strength comes from the jaw strength, which is no laughing matter on a Titan dragon. Give one of the front fangs a good hard whack and it'll probably snap. That alone might be enough to stop her. For all the biting and fire breathing they do, dragon's mouths are stupid sensitive. Whenever Biana or Dex hit their mouth on something or bite down too hard, they can't do anything with their mouth for hours."

Ro nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Have you seen Ry yet? I know you guys were wanting to wait until after the battle, but…"

Sophie let out a wistful sigh. "No I haven't. I can't wait to. How big is he now?"

"About to your ribs. He's not going to be super big and bulky, but an ogre kid tried to pick a fight and Ry mopped the floor with him, without using any fire. It was like 'no, bad child, no fighting' and 'That's my boy!' at the same time. The other kid's mom told him to not pick fights he couldn't win. I think he's got a new opinion of elves now."

She laughed. "I don't want him getting into fights, but that's funny. How is his fire bending going?"

"I don't know, I've been too busy to watch. Marella told me it's going well, but I'm not sure what that means. The forms I've seen him do are amazing. Some of them are ogre fighting forms modified for his size and he does them as well or better than I do. You've got a powerhouse of a kid on your hands."

"I have seven of them!" Sophie laughed. "I'm glad he's doing well. I was always nervous about sending him to the ogres, especially so young. I'm glad he turned out so well. How did you manage to raise such a quiet child in a war-oriented culture?"

Ro switched her battle-axe to her other hand and opened the door. "Mostly limited contact. We had me, my father and two or three other guards that understood the situation, plus Marella. Anyone else that came in contact with him, outside of when he wanted to run around and have fun with other kids, knew that they were to treat him with exaggerated care. And a lot of the moms and kids figured it out with minimal issues."

"I'm sure he'll have lots of stories to tell me."

"He's actually not very talkative. Well, you're his mom, he probably talked to you a lot more, but even at his most social, he's not a loud kid. Most of the time, he'll let other people talk and just listen."

Sophie nodded. "But when he wants to talk, he'll go on for hours. It's nice when you hear him excited about something. Updates on anything else?"

Ro shook her head. "I'm assuming all this Banished Seven stuff is classified? I haven't mentioned any of it to my father. And anything ogres can provide would probably just end with lost lives. As tough as we are, this is not someplace we can be useful. I don't think anything important happened while you were gone. The Council didn't do anything out of the ordinary besides suddenly kick Oralie and Bronte off the Council and replace them with two people no one's heard of before without a vote. But that was right before your funeral and nothing's happened since then. So I'm not sure how important that is now."

"That makes sense and it doesn't. They've removed my sympathisers, but people aren't going to like that there was no vote."

"Uh, what about Councillor Terik?"

"He stepped down several years ago. He felt it would be in the best interest of the Lost Cities to have a Councillor with greater mobility and dexterity than he has. Which left Oralie and Bronte as my only reliable supporters. Since they've been removed, I now have no support from them. But you said that was after my funeral."

"Right."

"I don't think it's important for us right now, but it's rubbing me the wrong way. I'll take it up with everyone else later. If you want to test that thing out, you should do it now. We'll run out of time for that quickly." Sophie turned and went upstairs, leaving Ro to get to know her new weapon.

Fitz was sitting on their bed, sharpening his sword. He looked up when she opened the door.

"My love." He stood, meeting her half way and hugging her gently.

Sophie returned the embrace, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Hey handsome."

"Did Ro like her new toy?"

"Mm hm." She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. "Are you doing okay?"

"As best I can." Fitz sighed. "I want all of this to be over. We were supposed to be done with this years ago. And now it's hurting our kids. That's what I can't stand. They can hurt me all they want, but as soon as they touch our kids…"

Sophie placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. "I know. But it's just this last time. Then we're done. Forever. We can go do whatever we want to do without constantly checking over our shoulders. Jolie and the quints can go to Foxfire next year. Ry's got a few more years before he gets there, but he'll go too, and he won't have to be considered Talentless just because he's a Pyrokinetic or be treated differently because he's blind. We won't owe anything to anyone. We won't be obligated to fight back just because we are the only ones with the guts to stand up and say no. Our lives will finally be our own."

He smiled, gently kissing her finger. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

**Battle starts next chapter. If any of you somehow still like the Council, you won't for very long.**

**I won't be giving normal teasers until we're through the battle, I'll be giving the name of the next chapter instead. As always, let me know if you don't want it.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	26. End of an Era Part Two

**Battle time! Get ready to be mad at some people and possibly me.**

* * *

Sophie drew her sword for what she hoped was the last time. They stood, the eight of them, in a line inside a U-shaped mountain formation. Ocean waves crashed against the cliffs the mountains made. Seven figures approached between the stone arms, funneling them into an area where those who chose not to or could not fly would be trapped. While it put them at a slight disadvantage, they were willing to risk it for the greater advantage of being underestimated. Any advantage was worth sacrificing something small for.

Fitz's thoughts hummed in the back of her mind, a sorely missed constant companion. While it hadn't always been a welcome presence at first, when someone was constantly privy to one's thoughts, it was nigh on impossible to substitute either person with an imposter.

Sophie stretched out her mind to include the others in a sort of telepathic group chat.

_Hey guys, do you think we ever grew out of our teenage dorkiness?_ Keefe commented.

Tam chuckled. _Of course not! What do you think we are, adults with kids?_

Dex and Biana were conversing in rapid Ancient Draconic, not bothering to be quiet since no one could understand them. From Biana's blush, Sophie was glad her Polyglot senses didn't extend to that particular language.

_You know, I kind of hope Tyrginth breaks into our thoughts, just once. Dex said in the Enlightened Language. Just for him to get a glimpse into the stupid running commentary we get into during battle._

Linh rolled her eyes. I_t's not all that original. Biana forgets to wear a bra, again, Dex makes like, five innuendos about it that no one else needed to hear, Fitz starts ribbing him about 'hands off my sister', Dex turns it back on him because Sophie is his cousin, Keefe encourages the whole shebang, and after about ten minutes of backhanded comments, playful insults and unneeded innuendos, either Tam or Sophie tell you all to shut up. Wash dry repeat. You guys really need a new routine._

_It's fun to see how far I can push it before anyone loses control. Tam's patience usually snaps first._ Keefe grinned.

Fitz sighed, saying just to Sophie, _Sometimes I wonder how old Keefe actually is._

_Well, you know what they say. Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional._ To the rest of the group, she said. _On a serious note, not all of us may come out of this. I know you guys can concentrate just fine while poking fun at each other, but put extra effort into paying attention. One slip-up could get all of us killed._

_We know the drill, Lady Fos-Boss. It's not like we do this for a living or anything._ Dex grinned at her, wings slipping out of his back. _Dad's up on the big mountain. Once we separate Tyrginth out, Dad will go after his brother. Our job is to keep the others busy._

_Who wants to bet Alina's one of them?_

_Keefe_. Sophie glared at him. _If Councillor Alina is one of the Banished Seven, we are so very dead. I know you don't like her, but consider the logistics of something before you say it._

_Yeah, you're right. Just trying to lighten the mood. As you've said, the best mental defense for those who are not Telepaths is to have constant mental traffic._

The Banished Seven stopped near the middle of the U. They were too far away to be identified by sight, but Biana took a long deep breath and frowned. _They smell familiar. At least one of us have met most if not all of these people. I can't place identities from this distance or with the other scents around me and them. But I know the Vacker scent. At least one, maybe two. And… flowers? Specifically peonies?_

Sophie squinted over the distance, tightening her hold on the air around her in her nervousness._ One of them must be wearing floral perfume._

_Hey Soph, little looser on the air, please. Can't breathe._

She cringed, letting the air around them flow again. _Sorry guys. Little nervous is all._

_Don't worry about it._ Fitz winced, rubbing his throat. _We're all out of practice and need to relax. Do you still remember how to adjust the oxygen levels? That would probably help with clarity._

_We'll see. I haven't done it in forever._

"Is the challenger going to appear at his own challenge or will he forfeit?" A taunting voice rang out over the intervening space. It was strong enough that Sophie heard it clearly, but couldn't identify it other than it being male.

Dex tensed. "I was right. That son of a-"

_Uh, right about what?_ Keefe cut him off before he could swear._ For those of us who don't have enhanced hearing._

_You'll see. They're coming closer._

Sophie tensed, watching the seven figures in the distance draw closer. As they walked, she recognized the circlet and cape of the Councillors, but not which one.

When they stopped again, Sophie wasn't surprised to see Vespera standing in the centre of the line. What did surprise her were the people on either side of the Neverseen woman. Councillor Emery stood to the left, Fallon and Luzia Vacker to the right. Next to the Vackers was a tall woman Dex said was Lady Iskra. On the other side of Councillor Emery was a blond-haired, golden-eyed man wearing the Redek crest and a young brunette woman with one arm hanging limp by her side.

_Ro, woman on the far left is Eimmod. Dark hair, white dress._

_Got it. That was my guess._

"I didn't expect to see you here, Councillor." Biana said icily.

He laughed. "It would be an ill reflection on my honour if I were to turn down a battle to the death."

"Especially such a convenient chance finally get rid of our pesky little brother." Vespera commented, eyes no longer pale blue, but the bright teal of a dragoness. She smiled, canines growing longer and sharper. Biana growled back, showing longer fangs.

_I guess we know who Tyrginth and Luminence are._

Fitz glared at Fallon and Luzia. "Who knew. You too."

Fallon gave a dark chuckle. Sophie had seen him a few times after Alvar's Tribunal and now realized he was an Oscar-worthy actor. "Oh, don't act so surprised. Surly, you must have had some inkling after my 'sister' slipped up and revealed herself as an affiliate of the Neverseen."

Luzia laughed. "But don't bother with us, dear, we're just here to watch."

Several lightning bolts crackled across the sky as storm clouds gathered over the highest peak. Kelser roared his challenge to the Seven down in the valley below. "Tyrginth!"

Emery laughed and yelled back, "Chyvren! Brother! Come down from your mountain and face me like a trueblood! Or has your elvin watchgirl thinned your courage?"

Tam glanced at Sophie out of the corner of his eye. _What's a watchgirl? I can gather from context but just making sure._

_In Egaeta, some young women, instead of getting married, choose to live with the city guards in the barracks. They're basically prostitutes, but just for the city's guards. They're called watchgirls, and it's a heavily looked-down-upon practice, though not illegal. It's a nasty, nasty insult and a bit of a risk, making Kesler more angry._

_I see._ Tam glared at Emery.

Dex growled, the skin on his face splitting to reveal scales running down his cheekbones. His wings were already out and now tense to the point of shaking. "You dare insult my mother's honour? I'll kill you for that!"

"No." Kesler boomed. "If you attack him, provoked or not, I forfeit and will lose my life. Do not rise to his bait. I issued the challenge and I will answer it."

"Good to see you are not yet a coward, brother." Wings sprouted from Emery's back, shaky and cramped from lack of use. He clearly hadn't flown in centuries. The scales along the pitifully small wing arm were nearly the same muddied brown as Kesler, but duller, as if to represent his defeat and exile. "May our battle shake the earth and skies!"

Sophie turned her attention to the other six as Emery leapt into the air to give himself room to shift form for the first time in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.

Vespera didn't change form at all, slinking behind the others for protection. She apparently did not mean to fight at all, just to slip away and continue to do her work from the shadows. _Someone keep an eye on Vespera, or Luminence, whatever you want to call her. Sophie cautioned._

_Roger. Let's just refer to them by their dragon names._ Keefe answered.

Biana growled. _I want Luminence._

Fallon and Luzia went to opposite ends of the line, Luzia making her way as close to the ocean as the mountains would allow. Shadow and smoke began to gather around Fallon once he had sufficient distance between him and the others until nothing of him could be seen.

_Looks like we have Nova on the left and Rovass on the right. _Biana said_. Rovass is Clan Seadancer and a powerful Hydrokinetic, even though Luzia is a Flasher. Linh, you better take her. _

_I didn't know Fallon Vacker was a Shade_. Tam commented, drawing his twin katanas.

_I think he's a Telepath, but I could be wrong._ Fitz's eyes flicked between the three left. _We know Iazar is Fylson Redek and Clan Lightbreath. He's probably a powerful Flasher. Two of us might have to take him. The girl with the bad arm must be Eimmod, she's Ro's. Which means Lady Iskra is Arbane. Not great for us. _

Sophie smiled. _Which one should I take?_

_I want Arbane, for messing with that circlet and almost killing you. Keefe, take the back seat and multitask._ Dex said. Unearthly disembodied voices coming from the smoke around Fallon began to chant in an old, shadowy Draconic dialect. _Tam, get on Nova, yesterday if you please!_

The tips of wings black as the abyss showed through the gathered smoke as Nova flew to one of the mountains.

_We all know the drill. Let's split and take care of our targets._ Sophie twirled her sword and Fitz drew his. _I'll take Iazer._

* * *

**Yeah I know I cut it off there. Next few chapters are going to be individual perspectives of the battle. Reviewers will get the name of the next chapter instead of a teaser, let me know if you don't want it.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	27. End of an Era Part Three

Ro yelled, brandishing her battle-axe, and charged Eimmod, who, without flight, lacked much of the graceful agility characteristic of dragons. The blow sent her fly almost two hundred feet, but she stood up and dusted herself off as if nothing had happened.

Sophie glanced at Fitz and he moved to back Tam up. She sent a private transmission to just Tam. _Keep my husband's impulsive butt out of danger, would you?_

_Not a problem._

With about fifty feet of space around her and Iazer now, as everyone else squared off, he began to shift, first the wings and tail, then pulling light around him as his body swelled to his full size.

While he lacked some of the sheer intimidating size of Kesler and Tyrginth, Sophie knew she'd be on the back foot for this fight. Iazer was easily larger than Dex at full size, maybe even double. While she knew she could hold her own and had done so in the past, this would be tough.

The dragon struck first, with a blast of fire hot enough to melt the dirt she stood on. She jumped, powered by the air around her and was out of the blast radius by several feet when it reached her.

She was going to have to end this fight quickly. One wrong move and she was dead. Reaching out mentally, she took hold of the air around the dragon's head and pulled. With any other creature, this would have halted their breathing, causing them to scramble back from her and weakening their blows against her.

This time, the air pulled back. Sophie had to force herself out of panic mode as she felt her lungs refuse to inhale.

A long-forgotten voice was the only reason she survived. _"When your style of airbending is turned against you, find just the oxygen around you and pull it around your nose and mouth. Taking control of only part of the air take much less effort and is more difficult to fight against, especially if your opponent is out of practice or their skill is unrefined."_

She reached out, pulling the oxygen around herself. This time, there was no resistance.

The earth cushioned her fall as she landed on her hands and knees, gasping. Rock and metal formed a cocoon around her.

_Fitz, that's you, right?_

_Yeah. You okay?_

_I'm fine._ Sophie recovered her breath and stood, tapping on the rock to let Fitz know to remove it._ Iazer is an airbender. I wasn't expecting it._

The shield melted away, sinking back into the earth. _Should we be worried? I know what you can do, so what can he do?_

_Not much, actually._ She launched herself back up, choosing specific gases and whirring them around herself in a protective tornado. _He's way out of practice. I bet this guy's hasn't touched his bending for the past two and a half centuries or ever faced anyone with the same abilities as him. As long as I don't try that again, I'll be fine. Thanks for catching me._

Iazer was clearly confused when Sophie darted forward and whacked him on the nose with her sword. The blade, made of hardened eltule steel, got through the scales and drew blood, but it lost most of its momentum cutting through dragon scales, so the wound was shallow, barely a scratch to a Titan dragon. But it startled him, which gave her the opening she needed.

_Fitz, can you hit him from underneath?_

He didn't reply for a few seconds. _Um, can someone else? I'm a little tied up at the moment!_

_I think I can get it. It just would have been easier. Sorry for distracting you._

_Oooh, love on the battlefield?_

_Shut up Keefe._ Sophie rolled her eyes, jumping down to the ground and bracing herself. Iazer was distracted and confused, but that wouldn't last long. This time using the air around her for maximum thrust, she flung herself into the air, right where she hoped she could puncture a vital something. Unfortunately, from the resistance she felt as her sword drove up to the crossguard into dragon flesh, all she'd hit was muscle.

_Hey Biana!_ Dex called in a singsong tone.

Biana grumbled. _What? Do you think my butt looks nice from that angle?_

_Actually it really does, but that's not the point. Bogey on your six!_

Sophie yanked her sword free and jumped down to the ground. Iazer was confused and disoriented, but still very dangerous.

The dragon stumbled backwards, shaking his head. It only lasted a few seconds before she was on the back foot again, only having time to dodge each blow as it came. Fire, snapping jaws, swipes with claws bigger than Havenfield's front door. Sometimes she only missed death by inches.

Well this is legitimately terrifying. she commented.

Do you need backup? Keefe yelled.

Not… currently! Sophie barely dodged another swipe, feeling the ragged cut ends of her hair fall against her neck. That last one was close enough to cut some of my hair, but I have it handled for the moment.

Stay safe. Fitz murmured.

You too. Sophie launched herself onto the peak of a mountain. With Iazer now far below her, she had a precious few seconds to decide a plan of action.

Or not.

Linh yelled, _SOPHIE LOOK OUT!_

Sophie glanced behind her and saw a huge wave headed straight for the cliffs, with a water dragon riding its crest.

_Rovass is stronger than she looks! I can't stop it from hitting you! Get out of the way!_

_Give me a second! I'm caught between a rock and a hard place right now._ Sophie jumped down into the shelter of the mountain range, trusting Fitz to break her fall.

He didn't. When she hit the ground, it remained rough and unyielding and she tumbled several hundred feet before coming to a stop lying on her stomach. She'd lost her sword at some point and could see it lying too far away from her. Her vision was blurry, but she could feel the heavy thuds of a dragons footsteps coming towards her.

_No…_

Claws wrapped around her and Sophie shoved against them, momentarily breaking free. She stumbled to her feet, wincing when her right ankle protested. It must have been injured in the fall.

Get to your sword. If she got to her sword, she could defend herself. There was no way she could airbend properly with what felt like a serious concussion. She'd do as much or more damage to herself as she would to Iazer.

Claws lifted her again, but she realized they were too small to be Iazer's and they weren't threatening her. She was being lifted high into the sky, the air around her growing thinner and thinner, even though breathing was becoming easier.

_SOPHIE!_

_Oh hey Dex…_

_Are you okay!? You weren't responding!_

_I'm okay. Just set me down near my sword. Don't you have your own dragon to fight?_ Sophie reached up into her hair, finding the pressure points Elwin had taught her to temporarily relieve her of the effects of the concussion.

_Arbane ran away. She's seriously injured though. I ripped up her wings and got in several serious gashes along some major arteries. We'll probably find her dead somewhere. The Banished Seven don't have a healer, unless Luminence is._

_You go take her down and make sure everyone else is alive. I can handle Iazer._

He sighed, setting her down next to the red and silver blade coated in dirt and dragon blood. _Be careful._

_I will._ Sophie picked up her sword, blasting air down it to clean it off. Iazer found her quickly, eyes narrowing to a slit of gold.

"C'mere and fight me, you big hunk of scales." she muttered.

He took the challenge, charging at her with fangs bared. Sophie swung wide and leaned out of the way, the flat of her blade connecting with the side of the dragon's jaw, making a solid clang. Thanks to the air she used to power her blow, and the Sucker Punch she wore on each wrist, the Titan's head snapped around, slamming into the side of a cliff.

He wasn't down for more than a few seconds though. Iazer shoved himself up and roared at her, spraying dragon saliva all over her.

_Ugh! I have dragon spit all over my clothes! This stuff stains like nothing else and does not wash out!_

_Actually, yes it does. I figured out how to get it out after Dex almost ruined one of my favorite dresses._ Sophie could hear the eye roll in Biana's tone.

_I am not sorry._ Dex answered.

_Yeah, I know. But that was a green dress! Those things are so hard to get clean!_

Their conversation slipped into a different language and Sophie shook her head fondly, refocusing on slaying the dragon in front of her. With both of them weakened and down to their more basic skills, it became a game of parrying and reflecting. Keeping herself out of danger while her opponent tired himself out. She knew that her opportunity to take out this dragon without backup had been lost and now she had to keep him busy until someone else could take care of him.

It was only a few minutes of sparring, but each seconds felt like a lifetime. Sophie knew she was a master swordsman and airbender, but if she were to fight any longer, this could easily be her Waterloo. Her breathing was becoming labored, her movements slowed. Her tactics were working, Iazer wasn't hitting as hard, but it was a race of who would become exhausted first and Sophie was losing. Or winning, depending on how you looked at it. Eyes falling shut, stumbling over obvious things, and her opponent knew this.

She missed a rock next to her foot and tripped, pain stabbing through her already-afflicted right ankle. Looking up through blurred vision, she saw Iazer raise his fist to smash her into the ground. Sophie reached out to Fitz, yelling for his help, but couldn't reach him. His mind was surrounded by shadows, tricked by illusions. He couldn't defend himself, let alone her.

_Please… No…_ She watched the giant battering ram descend, begging for a miracle. _I just got them back. I can't lose them again. They can't lose me again. Please, God, don't let this happen._

And her miracle came, in the form of a red dragon, Iazer's size or larger, slamming into him and knocking him away from Sophie. A small green dragon, who introduced herself as Atlantia, lifted Sophie into the air and carried her away from the battle.

As the air grew colder and the soft mist Atlantia blew over her began to work, Sophie's mind and vision cleared. She looked over the battlefield and gaped at the amount of destruction that these battles had wreaked. Three Titan dragons lay still in the sandy desert, none of them ones Sophie recognized as Biana or Dex thankfully. One was Nova, silver blood highlighting the dark scales.

Biana was blowing fire over a large area of dissipating smoke. She was injured and bleeding from several wounds, but alive. Sophie reached out and reformed connections with everyone.

_How's everyone doing?_

_We've got a situation._ Fitz answered. _You'll want to come down here as soon as you're able._

* * *

**That's Sophie perspective. I'm going to do everyone's perspective individually. Fitz is next.**

**Reviewers will get a different type of teaser in the form of an important phrase. You are free to theorize about it as you will. Just let me know if you don't want it.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	28. End of an Era Part Four

Fitz twirled his sword around his hand, following Tam at a safe distance. Nova was up on a peak high above them, smoke and shadow curling around him. The dragon let out a roar that seized his blood with fear. Fitz shivered.

_Don't let him get to you. _Tam cautioned. _I know you can't control your shadowflux, but you can control your thoughts. Keep yourself focused and block him out. Get us up to where he is and I'll go on the offensive. You stay out of the smoke if you can. I have some control to protect myself, but you don't._

_I got it. I know how to do backup._ Fitz quirked a small smile, tossing them up into the air.

_Sophie told me to keep your impulsive butt out of danger. Just following milady's instructions._ Tam landed smoothly, pulling shadows under his control and drawing both of his katanas.

Fitz rolled his eyes and reached into the rock under him, feeling the way it lay. It was a good mix of ores and stone, perfect for fighting with.

The shadows swelled and he backed up to stay out of them. There were no sounds of battle from inside the fog, but Tam's mind was focused and firm. He was clearly fighting something.

Someone about a half a mile away landed on the ground and Fitz softened their landing out of habit. He recognized Sophie almost instantly and when she didn't get up immediately, he clenched a fist and pulled a shield of rock and metal around her.

_Fitz, that's you, right?_ She sounded out of breath, but otherwise uninjured

_Yeah. You okay?_

_I'm fine._ Sophie stood and tapped on the rock. Fitz pulled it away from her._ Iazer is an airbender. I wasn't expecting it._

_Should we be worried? I know what you can do, so what can he do?_ Fitz glanced around and realized he couldn't back up much further without running into the cliff edge.

_Not much, actually._ She launched herself off the ground and out of his range. He's way out of practice. _I bet this guy's hasn't touched his bending for the past two and a half centuries or ever faced anyone with the same abilities as him. As long as I don't try that again, I'll be fine. Thanks for catching me._

He smiled, pulling a cocoon similar to the one he had placed around Sophie around himself. _Tam, how we looking?_

_I think I found out where the dwarves got the idea for the King's Path. I can't see anything in here besides what Nova wants me to see. But if I keep my eyes closed, I have to sense through the shadows around me and that will get me killed. Can you do anything?_

_We'll see._ Fitz carefully dropped the shield, stepping into the cloud of darkness. He'd been on the King's Path before, once or twice, and knew that there was about ten minutes from total darkness to illusions. Here, with the strange concentration of draconic magic and shadows, it was nearly instantaneous. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the horrible sounds. The screams, the cries for aid, the voices he knew, voices his heart told him he knew. It was everything he had to keep his eyes closed.

I_t's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real._ He chanted over and over in his head. Even when the illusions looked perfectly real, they had no substance, no form. They weren't real and they would never be real.

_You were right. I can't find anything in here._

Tam didn't respond. Fitz paled, struggling to stop himself from reaching out telepathically. He sunk his mind into the earth, looking for bodies. Nova wasn't hard to find. Four clawed paws leading up to the form of a massive dragon.

_Fitz, can you hit him from underneath?_

Fitz jumped when Sophie transmitted to him. He didn't dare answer while in the smoke, so he dropped down into the mountain, sealing himself into a cave before any shadow could follow. _Um, can someone else? I'm a little tied up at the moment!_

_I think I can get it. It just would have been easier. Sorry for distracting you._

_Oooh, love on the battlefield?_ Keefe taunted.

_Shut up Keefe._ Sophie answered.

Fitz sighed, deciding the best way to deal with this was the way he'd been taught. "Can't believe I forgot." he muttered.

He didn't have any spare fabric to use as a blindfold, but he did have rocks. It was fairly simple to bind a strip of metal around his eyes, making sure he couldn't see out of it.

The voice of an old friend from a memory cautioned his actions. _"Right now, you are vulnerable when you can't see. I know you can see with your earthbending, but you need to learn to switch instantaneously. Better yet, use both at the same time, so if you lose one or the other, you are not at such a grave disadvantage. Your greatest opponent is shadows. They are close to the earth, sometimes joined with it. It would be very, very easy to trick your senses into thinking there is something where there is not. Pay close attention whenever Tam has shadows along the ground. Learn the difference. You may need it."_

When he'd heard that the first time, he'd rolled his eyes and grumbled something about strict teachers. Now he was glad she'd overheard him and made him stay there for hours learning the skill.

Fitz let his senses sink into the earth again, reaching up to the mountaintop above him. Tam was either kneeling or sitting and not moving. Nova was slinking in ever-smaller circles around Tam, apparently pinpointing his location by smell, but certainly hunting.

He would have to move carefully, and quickly.

Fitz pushed himself back up to the surface, resisting the urge to open his eyes. His bending would be enough.

Nova's growl of challenge echoed through the fog. "I see you there. Thinking you are safe from me simply because you can see without your eyes. You are never in more danger than when you cannot see!"

More of the unearthly chanting came from the dragon's approximate location. Fitz used it as a locator, sword held in an easy grip. He knew Nova was staying small, so it would be easy to pierce something vital without too much effort.

But the Titan was more clever than the rest of the Seven gave him credit for. Fitz knew he was forming more illusions, he could feel the change in the shadows, but the high-pitched scream he heard was so close to real life he almost pulled off his blindfold to see if it was real.

"Daddy! Daddy help me!"

It was heartbreaking to keep walking past the source of the sound. His head and his bending told him there was nothing there, but his heart and his ears begged him to turn around. Fitz didn't know how Nova had gotten four-year-old Jolie's screams this on point. He had to remind himself over and over, she wasn't this young anymore, she wasn't here, there was nothing there.

"Dad?" This time it was older Jolie. Scared. Hopeful. Worried.

It's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real.

"Dad, what's going on?"

It's not real it's not real it's not real.

"Hmm. You are stronger than you look." The voice slowly changed from Jolie's voice to Nova's baritone.

Fitz missed the rest of what he said. He heard Sophie comment _Well this is legitimately terrifying._ and focused on her voice, pulling himself out of the mental fog.

_Do you need backup?_ Keefe yelled.

Not… currently! Sophie sounded out of breath. T_hat last one was close enough to cut some of my hair, but I have it handled for the moment._

_Stay safe._ Fitz transmitted, hoping she heard.

_You too._ Sophie whispered back.

"Hmm. You have a friend there, a friend you are concerned for. You would do much to ensure her safety, yes?"

"No." Fitz answered, finally pinpointing the location of the Titan and moving toward him carefully. "I don't need to defend her. She does a better job than I ever could. I just need to take care of myself. I am going to take you down."

"That was a mistake." Shadows sliced deep into his mind, ripping and tearing. Fitz groaned in pain, dropping his sword and falling to his knees. He pressed his hands to his head, trying to fight back or even defend himself.

It felt like an eternity of fighting back the fog in his brain, trying regain some control over his functions. But every time he pushed against Nova, the Titan pushed back with exponentially more strength. Sometimes, he wasn't sure if he was going to survive this, let alone break free. He was too strong, too much ancient power built up over centuries. The darkness was seeping into his memories, distorting even the happiest moments.

The struggle nearly broke him. He didn't know what was his mind and what was shadowy poison. Slowly, slowly, Nova gained ground, taking control of Fitz's mental core and leaving him without any feeling in his body, reeling in a void that felt too close to the one he had narrowly escaped. It was only then that old training kicked in and he pulled all his telepathic strength around what he had left of himself. It cleared his thoughts and he was able to discern that Nova was controlling his body through the shadows rooted deep in Fitz's mind. What for, he had no idea.

_Okay. I can get out of this. I've got this_. The first thing he had learned when he'd trained to fight with telepathy was how to win while at a severe disadvantage.

_"Everything you encounter in Adeala, if it is telepathic, you are at a disadvantage, simply because of lack of experience and lack of true training. Most of these situations will involve a dragon. Never initiate a fight with a dragon of any kind. They will kill you. But if one instigates the battle, or you have absolutely no other option, you need to be able to win. At the very minimum hold your own."_

Fitz began to reach out in his immediate vicinity, purifying the thoughts around him. Every time he did, he gained more of himself back and grew stronger. If he was careful, he could beat Nova.

_"Dragons are not clean fighters, especially if your opponent is old enough to be considered one of your Ancients or a Titan."_

Well, Nova was both. Fitz was able to take back some trivial memories of Foxfire, bolstering his courage. He could sense that the dragon realized he was losing control and it became harder to retake his mind. But he knew Nova was tiring. This would be over soon.

To his surprise, once he'd retrieved some crucial memories, all of them of Sophie, all it took was a firm blow to oust the Titan. Of course, once he did, he was back in control of his body and privy to all the sensations again.

The last time he had felt such serious pain, he'd passed out from the burns covering half his body. He collapsed, groaning and dropping the sword he hadn't realized he was holding. He fell on his hands and knees, seeing the smoke and shadow clear. When Fitz got up and turned around, he saw the reason for Nova's retreat.

A deep blue dragon twice as large as Nova had the black Titan pinned to the valley floor and soon Nova stopped moving. From the amount of silver blood coating the scales of both dragons, he was probably dead.

Biana was still in her dragon form and blowing fire over the remaining smoke cloud, making it dissipate faster. She finished the last of it and turned to him.

"Are you hurt?"

"Not critically so. Are you?"

"I have no idea. I just got back in control of my body. I'm in serious pain, so I'm probably injured. Where's Tam…" His voice trailed off as he turned to look where Tam should be.

Alvar lay on the ground unconscious, with a massive dragon-claw wound in his chest. Fitz had seen enough injuries to know that one of the claws had slipped between two ribs and punctured a lung, possibly scraped the heart. Tam however was nowhere to be seen.

Sophie reached out and formed a strong telepathic connection with him. His shoulders slumped in relief. She was okay.

_How's everyone doing?_ She sounded exhausted, but not in need of a physician.

_We've got a situation._ Fitz answered. _You'll want to come down here as soon as you're able._


	29. End of an Era Part Five

_We all know the drill. Let's split and take care of our targets._ Sophie drew her sword and Fitz copied her motion. _I'll take Iazer._

Keefe grinned, twirling his staff around her hands as fast as he could.

_Don't get cocky. If I have to drag you back, I'd prefer to only take one trip._

He laughed. _I can take care of myself, Bangs Boy. Watch Fitz's six._

_I was under the impression that Fitz was the calm methodical one least likely to put himself in danger on purpose. What did he do to warrant this level on concern?_

_Fitzy will happily throw himself into mortal danger if he thinks he's helping Sophie. It drives her nuts, but there's nothing she can do._

Ro yelled, swinging the flat of her axe into Eimmod's side and sending the dragoness flying several hundred feet. Keefe glanced around, noting everyone taking their targets. Linh and Rovass were now over the ocean, stirring up tsunami-like waves against each other. Fitz launched him and Tam up to fight Nova on a flat-topped mountain. Iazer sent a blast of fire at Sophie. She dodged and Keefe barely managed to duck out of the way.

He wasn't sure how able Fitz was to seal him in a cave underground, so he reached for the Empathetic energy around him, pulling it to his will and using it to bend the elements around him. The earth around him flowed into a sealed ball. It was nowhere near as smooth and precise as what Fitz could do, but it served its purpose.

Unfortunately, he didn't notice the shift in the earth behind him until it slammed forward into the back of his skull, knocking him out cold.

* * *

He wasn't out for very long, but he could tell he'd missed something. He caught the last bit of Sophie's transmission to Fitz._ -distracting you._

_Oooh, love on the battlefield?_ Keefe commented.

_Shut up Keefe._ Sophie answered, probably rolling her eyes. If she was feeling well enough to scold him, she was okay.

He groaned, reaching back and feeling a tender bruise forming on the back of his head and neck. His head started to throb with the worst concussion-caused headache he'd had in a while. "Oww."

A hand tapped him on the shoulder. He started and whipped his quarterstaff around at the person's head.

He couldn't tell who the person was in the pitch-black darkness, but they stepped inside of his blow, catching the staff where there was less momentum and putting Keefe off balance. To his great surprise, they didn't shove him over. Instead, they released his staff and stepped back.

"You're good with that thing. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Just wanted to offer you a painkiller for that headache." Alvar grinned, or Keefe thought he did. He couldn't see as well in pure darkness as _some people._

"Don't sneak up on me, I almost brained you. And what are you doing here anyway? I thought you were keeping an eye on things at your place."

Alvar sighed. "I was, but they're all terrified of Annie and I thought I could help out here."

"Was it you that knocked me in the head?"

"No, of course not! I just barely dodged something headed for me." He set two small pills and a water bottle in Keefe's hand. "Tylonel and Ibprofen. Best thing for a headache and honestly better than most elixirs. Should fix you up pretty quickly."

"Although by the time these kick in, the battle will probably be over." Keefe swallowed the pills, blinking rapidly when the water helped clear his head. "Thanks, man. I'd head up the mountain with a big cloud of smoke on it and find Fitz. He can tell you where you'd be the most useful."

Alvar nodded. "Okay. You'll have to let me out first."

Keefe grinned, waving his hand and making an opening big enough for Alvar to crawl through. "Not a fan of deep, dark, creepy places?"

"Not particularly, no."

He closed the tunnel behind Alvar, reaching out through the Empathetic energy around him to figure out what was going on. He heard Sophie comment,_ Well this is legitimately terrifying._

_Do you need backup?_ Keefe yelled.

_Not… currently! That last one was close enough to cut some of my hair, but I have it handled for the moment._

Keefe pulled back from her, searching for anyone else that might need help. He didn't dare go near the cloud of smoke, trusting Fitz and Tam together could beat Nova. Also, he didn't know how shadows affected his abilities and didn't care to find out.

He reached up into the sky next. There were three battles taking place among the clouds. Dex was fine by himself, ripping into Arbane with pent-up fury barely crammed into each blow. Biana was getting weaker by the second, losing her power despite the sun beating down.

"I guess Luminence isn't called the Lifeleech for nothing." Keefe gathered the energy leaking from Biana's scales and looped it around back into her body.

_Thanks! Thought I was a goner._ Biana sounded much more confident in her abilities now that she wasn't slowly losing her fire.

_No problem. Put a few extra holes in her for me._

_I'll see what I can do. Her scales are tougher than they look._

He knew he shouldn't go anywhere near Tyrginth. He was big, scary and would know as soon as Keefe started meddling. But the curiosity drove him to look anyway.

The logical half of his brain went, _I told you so_. Tyrginth recognized him immediately, sending a blast of telepathic energy strong enough to knock him out cold.

* * *

His eyes jerked open when he heard a familiar panicked scream.

_LINH!_

Without thinking, Keefe shoved himself upright, only to slump against the stone. His head was pounding with the aftereffects of his concussion and his vision swam.

_Linh, please be okay._

The human medicine was finally kicking in, so the throbbing in the back of his head dulled and his thoughts cleared.

_Okay, weird lightening lion thing, let's go save wifey._

_You know she hates that nickname right?_

_Well guess what, Bangs Boy, I like it and she's not a Telepath. If I want to call her wifey in my thoughts I will. What are you doing in my head anyway?_

_Honestly, I have no idea._

Keefe shrugged and didn't question it. He launched himself out of the hole, reaching past his mental voice for a deeper more primal energy.

_I know I haven't called for you in forever, but please respond, just this once._

To his delight, Empathetic energy crackled and sparked in the air, forming a net around him. It coalesced into a lion, as usual. Thankfully it hadn't changed. The lion dissolved into lightning again, gathering toward him when he clenched his first.

_Man, does this feel good!_

He heard a distant roar and shoved himself over to the ocean. A dark-haired figure was falling fast toward a thick sheet of ice and a dragon prowling its surface.

"Not today, scorchwash!" Keefe shoved his hands toward Linh's falling form, catching her in a net of energy. She slowed rapidly, coming to a stop some ten feet further down.

Rovass roared her challenge to him and Keefe ignored her. Until Linh was safe, Rovass could be patient.

Some of the energy still around him formed into a small bird. It circled his head a few times before flying away, leading him to a small protected area where it looked like a small field triage had been set up.

The energy net deposited Linh in his arms as he landed.

"You're not Elwin."

The young man setting out his supplies jumped and looked up. "Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. No, I am not this Elwin, my name is Xaldru. I am a healer of Clan Cliffbreaker."

Keefe didn't comment on the dragon's strange appearance. It made perfect sense for them to be able to manipulate their avatars to their will. "You can do burns, right?"

"Yes, I can. You can set her here. Do you know what caused the burns?"

"Normally when fighting dragons, that's not a question that needs to be asked. But I think it was boiling water or steam. Whatever water dragons spit out." Keefe set Linh down and gently kissed the unburned side of her forehead.

"I see." Xaldru selected a few things out of his bags with hurried scribbled labels on them. "Do you want me to send her your way once she's back on her feet if you haven't returned?"

"Yeah that's fine." Keefe grabbed Linh's trident and launched himself up into the air. He had no idea where his staff had gone, but that wasn't a big deal. He'd find it later.

A Titan mind reached out to his and he flinched, pulling away and guarding his thoughts as best he could.

Kesler chuckled. _I am not going to harm you, though your response time and method are none too shabby._

_Dude, you scared me._

_My apologies. My battle with my oathbreaking brother took me far away from you. Do you know what the status of battle is there?_

_Um, let me check._ Keefe looked around._ Sophie's got Iazer handled, Nova's being taken care of, I have no idea where Arbane or Luminence are, but I'm pretty sure they're dead. Dex and Biana are literal forces of nature when they're that angry. You may want to check on Dex actually, make sure he won't lose control. Ro's fine. Although she wouldn't really tell me if she weren't. But she's probably fine._

_I see. What of Rovass?_

Keefe launched back toward the ocean. _Taking care of her right now._ He landed on the large ice sheet with a light wisp of air. As satisfying as it was to land with a thud, he knew it was harmful to his body if he did that.

The water dragon was waiting for him. She snarled a challenge and loped towards him, claws scraping on the ice.

Keefe twirled the trident around his hand. Usually, he had two or three quips on the tip of his tongue. Right now, he wanted to kill this pathetic excuse for a dragoness.

Before she could strike at him, he lunged for the side of her neck where he saw three relatively fresh puncture wounds that had already broken through the thick slimy skin. He put all of his considerable strength behind the blow and drove the trident's tines into the old wounds, as deep as they could go into the Titan's neck.

Rovass roared in pain and surprise. But the sound was choked and gurgled in her throat. Keefe knew drowning in one's own blood wasn't a pleasant way to die, he'd nearly experienced it a few times himself, but any of the Banished Seven deserved such a horrible death. For hurting his wife. His children. For being responsible for all the hardship they'd been through. Especially Sophie.

He waited until he couldn't feel the spark of Rovass's life force pulsing through her body before he pulled the trident out. The blue-green blood on it had already dried in some places and it leaked sluggishly from the wounds.

_Keefe where are you?!_

He flinched when Sophie's transmission slammed into his head. Her panic prevented her from regulating her strength, although some of that force may have been on purpose.

_Fine. Really. My worst injury is a concussion I already took medicine for._

_Fine isn't a place Keefe. Where are you?_

_Out on the ocean, making sure Rovass is dead. I don't want to take any chances._

He could hear the eye roll. _You've been out there for about ten minutes. Unless the only lethal factor is blood loss, it doesn't take that long for a dragon to die. They're surprisingly sensitive to the balance of their bodies being upset. Get back to the valley. We've got a… situation._

_I didn't do it._ He rolled his eyes at his brain's default response and launched himself back to the valley, hoping the 'situation' didn't involve someone dying.


	30. End of an Era Part Six

**This chapter is unbetaed because I'm an idiot and forgot to send it to my wonderfully patient beta, WelcomeToTheOrder. If you guys don't mind, run over to her profile and show her some love, she's awesome.**

* * *

Linh grinned, feeling the absurd amount of water vapor in the air around her. If she hadn't been there to use it, it would certainly have rained soon.

Rovass was nowhere to be seen, but when Linh cleared the mountains and began falling toward the ocean, she could see an unnatural whirlpool forming. A water dragon hovered in the center, supported by the waves.

This would be a tough fight.

Linh dove gracefully for the water's surface, being sure to disturb the water below her just enough so that Rovass couldn't turn it to ice.

Being under the water's surface would either be disastrous or battle-winning. The tide of the battle would depend mostly on how skilled Rovass was. Linh knew she could beat every Hydrokinetic in the Lost Cities, the majority of them blindfolded. Most of her waterbending opponents when she trained in Adeala had underestimated her strength and lost. But she knew better than to be arrogant about her skill.

The water around her suddenly left her control and sucked her into the whirlpool. Her reaction time left something to be desired, but it was only a half a second before she was back in control, shoving herself about the water's surface, coughing.

Rovass growled, treating the water like a solid surface as she stalked towards Linh. Despite the many battles she had endured, staring down the giant fanged maw of death always scared her. But that was alright. Healthy dose of fear.

Rovass roared, stealing control out from under Linh and dumping her in the ocean again. Linh would've grumbled if she hadn't been underwater. It was too early to really evaluate the fight, but it seemed like it would be a constant battle of gaining control and losing it again. Lucky for her, there was a whole ocean's worth of water to fight with.

Linh reached out several miles in every direction there was water and started pulling it to her. It didn't take much effort. Water liked to flow to the lowest point it could get to and responded to pushes and pulls, like the tides. She rose out of the ocean again, sort of. The water she was holding came up to her waist, supporting her high above the surface. Rovass stretched her wings and made a few test flaps. She didn't get very far without needing water to support her. Linh giggled.

The water dragon roared again, this time spewing water from her mouth. If she recalled correctly, unclassed water dragons sprayed boiling water and steam instead of fire, but it was still strange seeing the phenomena in person.

The water rumbled under her and Linh caught herself with levitating. Rovass snorted and lunged for her. Linh let herself fall, making a perfect splash-free dive with all the grace expected of the Ocean Queen.

Instead of resurfacing, she kept diving deep into the ocean. As she reached about sixty feet, the limit for most people without gear, she felt slits open on her neck and grinned. The first time she'd discovered her ability to sprout gills and breathe underwater, she'd panicked and almost drowned. After she'd become comfortable with the fact, and figured out how to switch between the two, she'd used it many a time, mostly for merciless pranks. They usually consisted of her lying at the bottom of a fountain or pond and pretending she'd been drowned. It only worked the first few times, after which Tam or Sophie or whoever just told her that she was disturbing the peaceful air of the garden and get out of the fountain.

She'd almost forgotten she'd left her trident and armour in a chest near the bottom of the cliffs underwater. Linh absolutely hated wearing her armour. Yes, it looked cool, yes it had saved her life, no it was not in any way comfortable for long periods of time.

Was it absolutely adorable when Keefe freaked out and went on a long rant when he noticed she wasn't wearing armour in a battle and almost died because of it? So. Much. Yes.

She resigned herself to the torture of wearing it for the five minutes and strapped on her stupid shoulder pauldrons. Her trident, since it had pure gold plating over the whole thing, was as shiny as it had been when she left it there.

By her estimate, she was about four hundred feet down. Anyone else wouldn't be able to get this far down and get back up in time without seriously intense training, if it was even possible. Linh swirled the water in front of her in a circle with her trident and grinned.

Rovass dove after her once she realised where she had gone. Linh swam up to meet her, noting Rovass had thick, slimy skin in place of scales. No matter how thick, it was in no way as durable as scales.

She swung, the sharp tips of her trident biting deep into the side of Rovass's neck. The dragon roared, yanking the weapon out of Linh's hand and swimming for the surface.

Linh rolled her eyes. She could feel the water gathering for a massive wave, likely aimed at the side of the mountains. She clenched her fist and shot herself up out of the ocean, levitating high above its surface.

Rovass yanked the trident out of her neck and threw it. Linh groaned and yelled, "That's an irreplaceable, Adeala-forged trident, you idiot!"

The dragon didn't seem inclined to retrieve it. Three streams of blueish-green blood streamed down from the wounds, but they didn't seem to be serious.

As Linh had predicted, a huge sweep of water rose behind Rovass, carrying her toward the mountains. Linh knew she could dodge, but she checked behind her to make sure there was no one else in the way.

Sophie had just landed on the peak of a mountain, leaning on a boulder and breathing hard. She was facing the other way and had no idea.

Linh had no idea if Sophie could hear her, but she yelled anyway. _SOPHIE LOOK OUT!_

Sophie glanced behind her and saw the huge wave.

_Rovass is stronger than she looks! I can't stop it from hitting you! Get out of the way! _Linh made frantic motions to the side.

_Give me a second! I'm caught between a rock and a hard place right now._ Sophie jumped down into the shelter of the mountain range and Linh thrust herself farther up into the sky and plummeted down behind the wave.

It was a good thing she did. Tyrginth came crashing down almost on top of her and the only thing that saved her was the water pulling her out of the way.

Things were getting a little dicey.

Linh reached out into the water around her and found her trident. She yanked it back into her hand and shoved herself up to look for Rovass again.

The water dragon was floating at the base of the cliff, waiting for Linh to attack her. Linh gripped the shaft of her trident with both hands. She was confident in her ability to end this if she could just do it right.

Rovass had other plans. She shot a blast of boiling water at Linh's face. Linh only managed to get part of herself out of the way.

The world swam in and out of focus as her brain and body scrambled to deal with the burns. She lost control of her levitation and plummeted toward the surface of the ocean.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that her chance of surviving was extremely low. Even if Rovass allowed her to land in the water, she'd have a bad concussion and brain damage at the very least and be knocked unconscious, probably into a coma. More realistically, Rovass would turn the water's surface to ice and let the height kill her. From this high up, even landing in the water could be a firm enough impact to kill her. But ice was as unrelenting as it was cold.

Something crackled through the air around her, wrapping her in a cocoon of energy. Faintly, she heard Rovass roar in protest and challenge to an unknown contender. As her consciousness slipped away, she felt the energy lay her down in a safe expanse of water, soothing her burns and telling her she was safe.

* * *

When she woke up again, she was lying on something soft with gentle hands rubbing a cooling salve over the burns on her face.

"Keefe, is that you?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but no, I am not Keefe. My name is Xaldru and I am a healer of Clan Cliffbreaker. I assume Keefe is the man who brought you to me?"

"Blond, tall, muscles, hasn't grown out of his teenage stupidity?"

"I don't know about the stupidity, but yes."

"That's him. Where is he now? Is he hurt?" Linh finally opened her eyes, surprised to find herself feeling much better than she expected.

Xaldru shook his head. "The last time I saw him, he appeared hale, except for a possible concussion he refused to let me treat, saying he had already taken something to clear his head." He helped her to her feet as her vision cleared. It took her half a second to realize that his appearance wasn't a trick of the imagination.

She'd seen elves and draconic avatars with pure white hair before, but she'd never seen the horns or swirling white facial markings over blue and purple skin. And for all the shades of blue she'd seen in the Lost Cities, she'd never seen that particular so-pale-it's-basically-white shadow of the colour.

"I hope you do not find my appearance alarming. I frequently take a two-legged form, much more often than my clan-brothers. So much so that my two forms blend together more than they are meant to. I apologise, I ought to have warned you."

Linh shook her head. "You're fine. I'm not sure how you would've warned me. Which way did Keefe go?"

Xaldru shrugged. "He took to the air. He could be anywhere on the battlefield, although there are only one or two likely places."

"Okay. Just point me in the right direction and I'll be fine. How bad were my burns?"

"Not extremely. Boiling water and steam only get so hot, so the burns were not extraordinarily severe. But they can still be infected and you still ought to be careful."

"Thanks for the warning." Linh reached for her trident, assuming it would be on the ground next to her. It wasn't there. "Did Keefe take my trident?"

"I believe he did, yes."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

As Linh launched herself over the battlefield, levitation honed through years of Exillium and military training, she noted the lack of actual fighting. The battle appeared to be mostly over. When her gave swept over the corpses of great Titan dragons, she was relieved to not recognize any of them.

_Linh is that you?_ She recognized Dex's voice.

_Yes._

_How are you doing? Keefe told us you were down._

_I'm good. Just some hot-water burns. Not as serious as they could've been, but still at risk for infection._

_Okay._ He sent her a brief image of a location. _Meet us here. We have a situation._


	31. End of an Era Part Seven

**Again, unbetaed, because I've been busy babysitting and almost forgot to upload this at all. Thank you all so much for being patient with me. I'm almost done writing it, so if you have suggestions, make them now before I finish the book.**

* * *

Ro laughed, slamming her axe into the puny elf's side. Eimmod went flying and crashed into the side of a mountain.

_So much for a big powerful dragon._

Eimmod stood up and dusted off her dress. There were tears in the fabric, but she was unharmed.

Welp.

That happened.

Eimmod stalked towards her, shifting shape as she did. She was a pearly white dragon, smaller than the rest of the Titans, but still of formidable size. Her left wing hung useless and deformed against her scales.

Well, at least she couldn't fly. That was a plus.

Ro hefted her axe, twisting it so the sharp side was facing in. Eimmod abruptly charged her, nearly knocking Ro over. But the ogre managed to dodge, even if there was an earsplitting screech of scales against metal where the side of the Titan's paw scraped against her armour.

She took the opportunity of the exposed side and swung her axe, grinning wide when it bit deep. Despite the misfortune of hitting a rib, it still streamed blood and probably hurt. Had she been able to land another blow of equal strength in the same place, she probably could've broken the rib.

Eimmod roared in both pain and anger, but she didn't spew fire.

Yet.

Ro barely had time to duck behind a rock before a fury of dragon fire spewed over here she had been standing a few seconds ago. A few loose strands of hair caught fire, burning away quickly.

_Oh man, I'm in trouble. I can't be stupid. One mistake and I am dragon dinner. I have no backup._ She peeked over the edge of the rock to see her opponent walking away toward a figure lying still in the middle of the field.

Welp, there goes the be-smart plan. Ro picked up a rock and threw it as hard as she could, hitting Eimmod in the flank. "Hey, big and scaly! Over here!"

She whipped around and snarled. Ro ducked again, waiting for the new stream of fire to pass. Unfortunately she couldn't see Eimmod walking closer until the fire stopped and a scaled paw lifted her into the air.

"I always wondered what ogres tasted like." the Titan mused.

"Oh, so you can talk. I was beginning to wonder." Ro's voice quivered slightly as Eimmod lifted her up above her open mouth, long curved fangs gleaming in the sunlight.

_Hey… Dragons have really sensitive teeth._ Her honed military mind made the calculations in the milliseconds before Eimmod dropped her. Had she swung a little early or a little late, the last thing she would felt would have been the dragon crunching down.

The flat of her axe connected with a satisfying crack. Ro grinned when she saw the cracks form in the tooth and it snapped off. The force of the blow threw Eimmod's head to the side and Ro crashed against the side of her head, dropping her axe. Ro's head cracked on the scales and light danced across her eyes. She groaned, falling to the ground. Her vision went white, then flashed all the colors of the spectrum before she squeezed her eyes shut and forced her vision to clear.

"Ow…"

There were several loud thuds and cries of pain from Eimmod's direction. Ro cringed as the sound amplified the growing throbbing on the back of her head.

_Come on, Ro, get up. Get up._

She rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. _There's someone out there who's hurt. You have to get up._

Ro gritted her teeth and got up to one knee. Her head was swimming and she was pretty sure something was broken. But she had to keep going. She had to get up. She could do this.

Growling in pain, she found the energy to stand. Her legs felt bruised, not broken. She could walk. Maybe not carry someone, but walk.

Her vision finally clear, she saw Eimmod curled in a heap around a half mile away, clutching her mouth. The broken tooth lay in the dust near Ro. The fallen figure, probably an elf, was still lying in the dirt several hundred feet away.

_One foot… in front of the other. That's it._

She staggered over to the elf, recognising dyed silver bangs as she got closer.

_What's this guy doing out here?_

"Hey. Bangs Boy. You okay?"

He didn't answer.

Ro sighed and checked his pulse. His heartbeat was strong, so he probably just took a knock to the head.

"Bangs Boy! Wake up…" Her voice trailed off as the throbbing in her head started again.

"I'm…right here." he murmured. "Don't you…worry…your pretty little head…princess."

"You know I hate being called princess."

"Yeah, I don't care." Tam groaned, reaching to to rub his head. "Ow. What am I doing all the way over here? And aren't you supposed to be fighting Eimmod?"

She sat down next to him and helped him sit up. "I snapped her tooth off and she doesn't look like she wants to keep fighting. I'm not sure I could go again either."

"Okay. There's a field triage set up somewhere. If we can find it, we could both use some medical intervention. What happened to you?"

Ro reached up and gingerly felt out the growing bruise on the back of her head. "I landed on her and cracked my head on her scales. Those things are hard. Then I fell farther and landed on the ground. Nothing feel broken, but it still hurts."

"Same here. But I can levitate us both so we doing have to walk."

"That sounds like a great plan."

It took them several minutes to find the triage, during which time Ro's vision failed and she almost lost consciousness. Tam's concussion was almost as bad and she had no idea how he was managing to keep them both in the air and look around with any effectiveness at the same time. They got there in the end and he promptly dropped them, landing in the dust and passing out.

"Oh my. I wasn't expecting patients this quickly. I just got here."

Ro didn't recognize the calm, lilting voice, but if the man was here, Sophie trusted him and that was good enough for her.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

She turned around to see…a really weird looking elf. Two small antler-like horns swept back from behind his ears. His purplish-blue skin contrasted sharply with the white hair and dark violet markings. "Uh, what's with the horns?"

"Oh, sorry. They don't go away when I shift anymore. I've done it too often. I apologize if I startled you."

"No, you're fine. I've seen some weird stuff, but this is new. What's your name?"

"I am Xaldru, a healer of Clan Cliffbreaker. Are you injured?"

Ro sat down slowly, muscles cooling down and starting to ache. "I think it's just the concussion. Nothing feels broken, but it does hurt to breath."

"I see. Your friend?"

"Should just be the concussion. If he's hurt anywhere else, he didn't tell me."

"Thank you." He handed her a delicately wrought glass cup half full of a thin greenish liquid. It smelled a bit like a bit like some more nasty bacteria, but pleasant. "I believe this has been modified to ogre sensitivities."

Ro shrugged and down the whole thing in one gulp. She yelped, coughing, as the medicine spread a burning warmth through her body, taking the aches and pains away with it. "Okay. I wasn't expecting that."

"It does burn a little bit, doesn't it?" Xaldru knelt next to Tam, checking his pulse and breathing.

"Do you guys usually bring such fancy things out where they could get broken really easily?" She carefully set the glass down with on a flat-topped rock.

"Most of my utensils were made to be pleasing to the eye as well as durable and useful. You said it hurts to breathe?"

"Not much, but yeah."

The dragon tipped a similar looking elixir thing down Tam's throat and stood. "If I may?"

Confused, Ro nodded.

Xaldru gently pressed along her ribs, stopping when she winced and yelped. "I believe this one is badly cracked, but not broken yet."

"Great. Can you fix me up?"

"Of course. That is what I am here to do." He wrapped her ribs carefully. "How were you injured?"

"A dragon tried to eat me. I snapped her tooth off with my axe and then I landed on the side of her head. Your guys' scales are tough."

The healer chuckled. "That they are. I would suggest you rest before going to find your weapon."

Ro sighed. "I guess. Unless Tam wakes up first. He can levitate us both."

"I see." Xaldru went back to setting out his things, occasionally checking on Tam and sometimes giving him a different remedy.

After about ten minutes, Tam's eyes fluttered open and he groaned, pressing a hand to his head. "Did we make it?"

"Yeah. Dragon doc said you're good to go."

"Okay. I think both of us left our weapons out there, so we should probably go get them.

Without the concussion, Tam's levitation was much smoother and took them out to where Ro had lost her axe in thirty seconds at the most.

"Thanks, Bangs Boy. You know where you're going?"

"Yeah. But I think I'll stick with you for the time being. Looks a little dicey up there."

"Okay. Can you look for that tooth? It's about that long. I want to keep it as a trophy." She showed him about how long the piece she'd snapped off was.

He grinned. "Cool. What are you going to do with it?"

Ro frowned, looking around in the dirt for her axe. "Hm, I don't know. Probably mount it somewhere. But it has to be where people will see it."

"Hey, doesn't your axe have a spike on the top?"

"Yeah it does!"

"You could replace the spike with the tooth. Dragon's teeth are serrated and never get dull, even though they're ridiculously sharp. And since I bet you'll be carrying that thing around everywhere, everyone will see it."

She grinned. "That sound like a great idea. As soon as we find them."

A gentle telepathic probe poked her mind and she acknowledged it.

_Ro, are you with Tam?_ Sophie asked.

_Yeah. Wassup?_

_Find us as soon as you can. We've got a situation._


	32. End of an Era Part Eight

Biana took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders back. Usually she took no pleasure from battle, unless said battle provided food. Killing Vespera however, this would be fun.

She shook out her hair and her ears morphed into her head and formed the long crest/horn/things on the side of her head. Her back tingled and burned, though not unpleasantly so, as her wings burst through the skin.

A near-blinding bluish light surrounded her and her skin felt as if it were ripping, soft elvin flesh replaced by hardened Dovahkiin muscle.

She opened her eyes, relishing the sharpened senses, and roared her challenge.

Vespera flinched, showing no signs of shifting herself.

Well fine then. Lunch it is.

Biana lowered her head to stare her aunt-in-law in the eye and took a deep breath, this time not filling her lungs. A pleasant tingling warmth spread through her limbs as Everblaze ignited her fire.

She shot a blast of blinding fire, set to roast.

When she clapped her jaws shut and stopped the fire, Vespera had a pair of scrawny, bleached-white wings wrapped around her, shaking from the effort of keeping the fire out.

"I didn't realize you were a coward, Vespera. Or are you seeking a quick death?"

"It is not cowardly to know when to run."

Biana snorted and took to the skies, levitating Vespera up with her. "I am happy to kill you as you are, but I'd prefer a good fight."

"Didn't your mother teach you not to play with your food?" Vespera's voice became fuller and more majestic, accompanying her shift to a draconic form.

Compared to the rest of the Titans Biana had seen, Luminence was…scrawny. Her wings were more bone than muscle, and there were places all over her body where the only thing between bone and scale was hide.

"Wow, spending millennia in prison didn't do you any favours. You look like you just crawled out of the garbage dump."

"Don't talk to your betters that way." Luminence spread her wings, gaining altitude quickly.

"Well somebody's touchy." Biana muttered, baring her claws with a _shiiiik_, but she didn't strike. Not yet.

Luminence roared, shooting a blast of fire at her. Biana shoved her wings downward hard, pushing her shoulders up and letting her belly scales take the blow. The only thing she felt was a minor tickling sensation. Wow. This had to be the weakest dragon she'd ever fought.

Biana soared easy loops around the Titan, gaining altitude and preparing for a hawklike dive.

She tucked in her wings and stretched out her claws, grabbing Luminence by the wings as she passed. Her claws were squeezing with enough force to break the bones and scales beneath them, but the most she got for her effort was some scratches and a loud screeching sound that made her roar in pain.

Biana let go, shaking her head to get rid of the ringing in her ears.

"Thank you for breaking the cloud cover, hatchling." Luminence took a deep breath, but it wasn't air she was breathing.

Biana shivered, feeling small bits of warmth leaving her body. She replenished it as quickly as she could, but it wasn't working.

She kept herself in the air, relying more on her physical attributes instead of her fire-enhanced ones. Luminence was still below her, gathering for an attack, so Biana dropped onto her, clawing and biting anywhere she could reach.

The Titan roared, batting off the onslaught, though she did take wounds. Her retaliation cut deep along Biana's ribs, not dangerous, but still painful.

Biana's elvin mind took the backseat as she and Luminence hammered away at each other. It was a game of act and react, strike and counterstrike. She'd learned through many painful injuries that elves overthought everything, every blow. Dragons could do the same overthinking, but they were predators. Too much thinking and there goes your prey. They were best for fighting.

Luminence disengaged and flew off, giving Biana a brief respite.

_Hey Biana!_ Dex called in a singsong tone.

She groaned. _What? Do you think my butt looks nice from that angle?_

_Actually it really does, but that's not the point. Bogey on your six!_

She spun, barely stopping the dragon diving for her. Luminence roared, slashing and clawing and biting. Biana took a deep breath, preparing to blast the Titan with fiery fury.

Nothing came out except for a trail of smoke.

Luminence laughed. "Do you know how I got my title of Lifeleech, hatchling?"

Biana growled, making a weak swipe at her, but she barely had enough energy to stay in the air.

"I discovered a way to pull the energy and fire from one organism to another. Ah, the vitality of youth. Your fire will fuel me for years."

She started flapping harder, willing herself to pull energy from the sun.

"It's not going to work. Every ounce of energy that flows into your body flows right back out again and into mine."

Then Biana felt the energy stop seeping out of her, allowing her to build up her fire again. She recognized Keefe's soft Empathetic energy acting as a barrier between her and Luminence.

_Thanks! Thought I was a goner._ Biana growled at the Titan.

_No problem. Put a few extra holes in her for me._ She could hear the jaunty, two-fingered salute in Keefe's tone.

_I'll see what I can do. Her scales are tougher than they look._

Biana roared her challenge and went back to just brawling. Act and react. It soon became apparent that Luminence had the endurance of a plant. She was tough, but she relied too heavily on her ability to win and couldn't actually fight without it.

Even so, her own strength was failing. She'd spent too long without proper training. Too long without a fight.

Her wings became heavy and it was an effort to stay in the air as both of them drifted closer to the ground. Luminence's blasts of fire became weak puffs of smoke and Biana's weren't much better at this point.

But in the end, she was victorious. Biana dealt a final stunning blow to the side of the elder dragon's head. Luminence was unable to recover and fell out of the sky. Biana dove after her, claws bared to finish the job.

_NO!_

She flinched, landing just shy of the Titan's still form.

Kesler continued, voice grave. _We need her alive._

_Why?_

_To rescind the damage she has done. We need either her or Tyrginth to remove the restraining shields from around the Lost Cities. My brother will likely not recover from his wounds, so leave Luminence alive._

_You know, I'm technically your superior, since Dex is the Crown Prince and all._

He growled. _You would be wise to heed my words, hatchling. Leave her crippled if you wish, but alive. _

She didn't have to like the orders she was given, but she did have to follow them. Fine.

Biana turned to Luminence, who was just beginning to stir. She most certainly did wish to leave such a horrid creature crippled.

She roared, knocking Luminence onto her back and shoving each of the Titan's wings out flat on the ground, pinning the dragon down.

Dragons had a single crippling weakness. In order to not have exposed hide where the membrane of the wing joined the body, it fit in between the scales. This meant if the wing membrane were severed right along the scales, it could not be stitched back together in order to heal properly and the scales would slide together free of impediment. It would render a dragon flightless, permanently.

Biana stabbed her sharpest claw into the wing membrane right under the wing arm at the shoulder. Keeping it pressed against the Titan's scales, she slid her paw down the length of the attached membrane, severing it from Luminence's body. There was no need to do it on both sides. One was enough to cripple.

She left Luminence there after shoving her into a telepathically-induced coma that would keep her down until someone pulled her out of it. Biana rolled and stretched her sore muscles and took off, making her way back to the battlefield.

_Ugh! I have dragon spit all over my clothes! This stuff stains like nothing else and does not wash out!_ Sophie groaned.

_Actually, yes it does._ Biana sighed. _I figured out how to get it out after Dex almost ruined one of my favorite dresses._

_I am not sorry._ Dex answered.

_Yeah, I know. But that was a green dress! Those things are so hard to get clean! _She huffed._ I'm still mad about that._

He sent her an image of him pouting and giving her puppy eyes. _I sowwy. I'll make it up to you?_

It was almost impossible to smile as a dragon and she didn't fancy getting anything stuck in her teeth, but the corners of her mouth turned up as much as they could._ It's okay, really. It's not that big of a deal. I stopped being able to wear that dress soon after anyways._

There was a large cloud of smoke still over the mountain where Nova had been, though his body now lay still in the valley below. Various dragons Biana didn't recognise were scattered around the mountain and valley floor, including one she recognized as Mulraym.

She landed on the mountain plateau where Nova had been and began blowing fire over the remaining smoke. Fitz groaned, slowly stirring on the ground. He wasn't seriously wounded, though the smell of elvin blood hung heavy around her.

Her brother pushed himself onto his feet, barely wobbling. He glanced around, checking that Nova was dead before he turned to face her. "Are you hurt?"

"Not critically so. Are you?" Biana took a long deep sniff, frowning when she realized the blood she was smelling wasn't Fitz's.

"I have no idea. I just got back in control of my body. I'm in serious pain, so I'm probably injured. Where's Tam…" His voice trailed off as he turned to look behind him.

Alvar lay on the ground unconscious, with a massive dragon-claw wound in his chest. As Biana stepped closer, the scent of blood became almost overwhelming, along with the scent that preceded death.

Sophie reached out and formed a telepathic connection. Biana heard her ask, _How's everyone doing?_

_We've got a situation._ Fitz replied. _You'll want to come down here as soon as you're able._


	33. End of an Era Part Nine

Sophie sighed in relief when the concussion elixir began to kick in. She didn't know how serious the 'situation' that Fitz had mentioned was. He made it sound like someone may be in lethal danger.

She pulled the air under her and launched herself up onto the plateau. Most everyone was waiting for her.

Tam seemed the most uninjured out of everyone, the pale skin on his neck and jaw making the bruises look worse than they really were. Linh had hot-water burns down her face, neck and arm that had been treated. Keefe was…not next to her. That was weird.

She reached out for him, combing the battlefield carefully with her mind. It took several minutes before she was able to find his consciousness glimmering out in the middle of the ocean.

_Keefe where are you?!_ She knew the amount of telepathic strength would be painful since he couldn't shield against it, but that was the least of her concerns.

_Fine. Really. My worst injury is a concussion I already took medicine for._ He sounded snippy, but otherwise hale.

_Fine isn't a place Keefe. Where are you?_ she retorted.

_Out on the ocean, making sure Rovass is dead. I don't want to take any chances._

She rolled her eyes. _You've been out there for about ten minutes. Unless the only lethal factor is blood loss, it doesn't take that long for a dragon to die. They're surprisingly sensitive to the balance of their bodies being upset. Get back to the valley. We've got a… situation._

_I didn't do it._

Sophie sighed, turning back to the group.

Fitz didn't look so good. Most of the gashes on his torso weren't bleeding badly and some of the more serious ones were already bandaged, but there was a worrying amount of blood covering his clothes.

"Sophie…"

She wrapped her arms around her husband, eyes squeezed shut in relief. He was okay. "I'm here, Fitz."

He buried his nose in the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath. "You're okay."

"What about you?"

He sighed. "I'm injured, but I'm not in immediate danger. Clan Cliffbreaker sent a healer ahead of them and he patched me up. Are you hurt at all?"

Sophie shook her head. "Just a concussion and possibly a broken ankle, though I've been walking on it for some time, so I don't think it's that bad. I'll see a physician afterward, but I'm not that bad. What's the situation?"

Fitz slipped his arm around her waist, leading her to a different section of the plateau. She saw Ro, Dex, and Biana standing between her and a dark-haired figure lying still on the stone. "Alvar came to back us up."

Dex looked up and stepped aside to let them in the somber circle as they got closer. Sophie shivered when she saw how bright the gold of his eyes was.

"Nova got to him before we realized."

Sophie knew almost immediately that Alvar's chances of survival were slim to none. His wound was bandaged, but she knew that there could easily be internal bleeding, given the wound's close proximity to the heart and many large blood vessels. His breathing had to be massively impeded, since his left lung was virtually sliced in half.

"What's the prognosis?"

"It'll take a miracle to save him."

Five sets of small footsteps lighted into the plateau and a young voice asked, "Will I do?"

* * *

Sophie nearly broke down in tears when she turned to see her five daughters there. She was initially angry that they'd leapt themselves onto a battlefield, but it was quickly overwhelmed by a rush of love for her children.

Miracle forestalled her crushing hug with a raised hand and somber face. "I can save him, but only by taking another life. If you do not have a suitable prisoner, one of us will have to volunteer, or my power will take my life instead to fuel his."

"How much time do we have?" Sophie asked, taking her youngest daughter's hand.

Biana sighed. "Just enough, but only if we have someone here. I'd volunteer Vespera, but Kesler said to keep her alive. We need either her or Tyrginth alive and he will probably succumb to his wounds."

Fitz knelt in front of Mira, face grave. "Can you use Tyrginth, before he dies?"

She shook her head. "The exchange must be as equal as possible. If he is already going to die, it won't count. To save Alvar's life, I must replace it. Life for life."

He sighed and stood. "What are Tyrginth's chances of survival?"

"A lot higher than Alvar's. If the healers are invested in his care, he'll probably make a full recovery." Dex said, voice still calming to his normal tone from his deep draconic tenor.

Sophie pursed her lips, making an executive decision. "Biana, go get Vespera. We'll use her."

Miracle released her mother's hand and walked over to Alvar's still form as her aunt took off into the sky. "I can start the healing process now. It'll be a few seconds after I finish before I am required to hold up my end of the deal." She set her hands gently on his chest and closed her eyes.

"Flower, gleam and glow." The ends of Miracle's hair lifted and the strands glowed gold as she began to sing.

"Let your power shine." The swirling light spread out of her palms and into Alvar's chest.

"Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine." Her head bowed as she concentrated, hair floating in a halo around her.

"Heal what has been hurt." The blood soaked into the bandages around Alvar's chest began to recede.

"Change the Fates' design." She pressed her hands tighter to his chest, shoulders rigid.

"Save what has been lost." The glow was leaving her hair, but light was seeping out from under her palms.

"Bring back what once was mine." Miracle's brow furrowed in concentration as Alvar's chest slowly began moving of its own accord. "What once…was…mine."

She groaned, collapsing to the side. Dex caught her before she hit the rock.

Alvar inhaled violently, coughing hard. Fitz jumped forward, easing his brother into a sitting position.

"Careful now."

Alvar groaned, opening his eyes and squinting at the people around him. "What happened?"

Sophie crossed her arms. "You took a pretty big hit. Miracle is the only reason you're alive, and if Biana doesn't get back with Vespera soon, Mira won't be in a few minutes."

"No, it's okay." Miracle stood without assistance, face grave. "I'm fine."

Biana landed with a thud, dumping a bound elf on the stone. "Do your thing, Mira."

Miracle lifted her hand, levitating Vespera into a kneeling position. "Someone hold her there."

Tam moved to grip the Titan by the shoulder, holding her in place.

Miracle stepped up to her, staring Vespera in the eye as she chanted the words that would end her life. "Wither and decay."

She pressed one thumb to Vespera's forehead and the other hand to her chest. "End this destiny."

"Break these earthly chains," Horrible choking sound wrenched from the Titan's throat and her eyes rolled back in her head. "and set the spirit free."

Smoke began to wisp off Vespera's frame as silver beams oozed from under Miracle's hand. "The…spirit…free."

Tam let go of Vespera as she slumped to the ground, dead. Miracle nearly followed out of exhaustion, caught at the last second by her father.

The other four quints who had remained silent and nearly motionless throughout this stepped forward. All five of them exchanged teary hugs and promises of a real reunion later with their parents and leapt away.

* * *

Sophie groaned, stretching and feeling her back pop in several places. It was nice to be back in her own house and her own bed. The ocean breeze floated through the open window, playing with the curtains. It carried the familiar fresh scent of the sea and the wildflowers she'd planted along the edge of the yard.

Fitz stirred next to her, though he stayed asleep. Sophie sat up and smiled. Her house was quiet, save for her husband's soft breathing next to her and the calls of the moonlarks and other birds that nested in the cliffs. She let out a soft chuckle as she read the sign Keefe had made for them as a wedding present, fifteen years ago, swirling white letters on distressed pale blue wood.

_Marriage is just an endless sleepover with your favourite weirdo._

That was one of her favourite quotes.

She sighed in contentment, reaching out and pulling her bathrobe to her hand. Wrapping it around her, she tossed back the blankets and stood, rubbing her feet on the soft grey shag rug.

The sunlight was gentle as it crept in the window. Sophie pushed open the French doors leading onto the balcony, cringing when her bare feet met the cold stone.

The sunrise over the mountains near Cliffside were always beautiful and nature did not disappoint her this morning either. Peach and yellow and pink laced the sky, tinting the clouds warm colours. She closed her eyes and smiled, relishing the warmth on her face.

Fitz yawned, bed creaking as he stretched and sat up. Sophie turned and walked back inside, leaving the balcony doors open.

His hair was rumpled and messy, not artfully messy like he liked to wear it, just a plain old case of bedhead. There were creases in his cheek where the pillowcase had been bunched up and he'd forgotten his pyjama top entirely. She smiled.

"How do you always look so nice when you've just gotten out of bed?" Fitz asked, reaching out for a hug.

Sophie sat next to him, wrapping her arms around him as he cradled her gently. "I've actually been awake long enough to brush my hair and wash my face and stuff. Ten minutes ago I looked like something the cat dragged in."

"I bet you still looked beautiful," he mumbled into her neck, pecking kisses up to her jaw.

"You're the only one who would think so." She smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Did you get enough sleep?"

"I think so," he yawned, falling backwards onto the bed and pulling her with him. "But today's a pretty big day, so who knows. Do you know what the plan is for today? I don't really remember."

"Yeah, you were pretty much passed out by the end of that meeting. We're starting with restoring everyone's memories since Tyrginth wiped us from the Lost Cities so we couldn't garner sympathy if we came back. Then we're got stuff in Adeala to do. Dex's grandfather needs to talk to him. I wonder what's up with that."

Fitz sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I probably have to get up then. Do you think I have to shower?"

Sophie smiled, standing and pulling him back up to sitting. "Yes, you need to shower. I told you you should shower last night so you wouldn't have to do it this morning."

"But you were in the shower."

"That," Sophie booped him on the nose with a finger, "has never stopped you before."

* * *

The weight of her sword was familiar and soothing on her hip. Sophie automatically assumed her position at the front of the group, with Fitz behind her and to her right. Everyone else appeared to be standing at random, but it was actually a carefully calculated military formation specifically for covert operations, such as anything to do with the Lost Cities.

They were at Havenfield first. Kesler was bringing Tyrginth in a few minutes, since they wanted him out of his cell in Adeala as little as possible. Tam was tossing an obscurer up and down, keeping their position concealed until Kesler arrived.

Right now, Sophie and Fitz were gauging the damage done to her parent's memories. It only took a few seconds to slip unnoticed into their minds, gather the information they needed and get out. Edaline's mind flickered with a shadow of recognition when Sophie touched her mind, but it was quickly smothered by the draconic magic that hung heavy in the air.

"Sit rep?" Keefe asked, popping his knuckles individually.

"They have no memory of any of us. They know the triplets and they know of Alvar through the scandals and the gossip grapevine. But all of us are gone, as is anything related to the Black Swan, Neverseen or Project Moonlark, except for a few givens." Fitz reported in a low tone. They might be concealed by the obscurer, but one could never be too careful.

Tam walked over to stand next to them, tossing the obscurer to Linh to make sure their position stayed undetected. "Their shadowvapour levels are unusually high. Not that I'm surprised, but thought you should know. They also didn't appear to notice when I checked it, so there might be some sort of telepathic shield to keep them from recognising that kind of thing."

"Thanks." Sophie answered.

Kesler glittered into sight with his brother held firmly by the shoulder.

Emery's eyes now glowed the hereditary draconic gold. His hands were bound by thin metal cuffs in front of him. Thin lines of nearly glowing blue-white ice laced the surface, blocking any power that might pass them. He glared at all of them, growling low in his throat when Kesler pushed him forward.

At the signal, Linh disabled the obscurer and it took Grady and Edaline only a few seconds to notice their odd assortment of visitors.

They recognized Emery of course, but his situation and less-than-normal appearance made them pause.

Grady stepped forward and the coldness in his voice and lack of recognition caused a pang of aching sadness in Sophie's heart. "What is going on, Councillor Emery?"

"I'm afraid my _dear brother_," Kesler spat, "is no one's Councillor." He pushed Emery forward a step, holding his shoulder in a bruising grip. "As soon as he restores your memories, we'll be on our way."

Edaline looked just as broken as she had been when Sophie had first come to the Lost Cities as she stepped up behind Grady and it broke Sophie's heart. The twenty years of progress and finally healing had been wiped away. "What is he talking about? Kesler, what's going on?"

Emery grinned. "I'm afraid I have no idea what he's going on about. Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Kesler sighed, eyes flashing with annoyance. He produced a small slim pistol out of thin air and pressed the end of the barrel to the side of Emery's neck. "You know what you're here to do. I suggest you do it before I blow another hole in your head."

The threat seemed to get through to Emery and, after glaring at them, closed his eyes and chanted a few words in Ancient Draconic. Sophie monitored the effect it had on her parents' minds, hope blossoming inside when she saw the shadows lift and all their memories came rushing back.

Edaline teared up almost instantly, rushing forward to envelop Sophie in a crushing hug. Sophie returned it just as vigorously, dripping tears of joy onto her mother's shoulder. Grady joined their hug, his tears of relief and happiness flowing with theirs.

The result was similar at Everglen, even though it took longer to get Emery to remove the blockades in their memories. Alden and Della both cried for a while and it took a long time for them to let go of Fitz and Biana so they could move on to the next location.

Then Dex received a hail from his mother, saying all of them were needed at Clan Cliffbreaker's home canyons, yesterday.

Sophie knew better than to panic. There was no way something was wrong. Just different and out of the norm.

Biana created a fiery portal as they dove off the side of Everglen's cliffs. Sophie thrust her hands out as soon as they were through, creating a strong enough updraft to slow their fall and land on their feet.

Well, Keefe chose to land in a roll and come up standing.

When she raises an eyebrow at him, he shrugged and said, "It looks cooler."

Mulraym was waiting for them in the valley below. His voice was rumbling and low as he spoke, though his words were in Ancient Draconic.

"He apologises for his inability to speak anything other than the languages of dragons." Biana translated. "Dex's grandfather, who is the current King of the Dragons if you didn't know, wants to speak with Dex, myself, and Sophie, immediately."

Sophie and Fitz glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes as Biana finished the conversation with Mulraym.

"What do you think is going on?" She murmured, gently hooking her fingers with his.

Fitz glanced around and replied in an equally low tone, "I don't know. There's a lot of dragons out, more than usual, but it's way too quiet. Something big is happening and it involves Dex."

Sophie frowned, noticing the same things. Somewhere between twenty and fifty dragons of every size were scattered all over the mountain peaks around them.

Biana poked her mind gently and Sophie squeezed Fitz's fingers gently before letting go and following Dex, Biana and Mulraym into the caverns below the mountains.

The vaulting halls were solid stone, with gold and jewels inlaid in the walls and in a border along the edge of the floor. As they got closer to their destination, the stone beneath their feet began to change. Sophie paused, lifting her foot and finding the rock beneath her had changed to solid ruby.

The rest of the group stopped and Mulraym looked over his shoulder. Biana translated his question.

"Is something wrong?"

Sophie shook her head, glancing behind her and seeing the path of red footprints. "The floor is turning into ruby wherever I step."

Dex repeated her statement in Ancient Draconic and told her Mulraym's answer. "It does that for everyone. It changes to a crystal in a colour that represents them. The only exception is those of the royal line, for which it always turns to solid gold. No one knows why it does that, it's done that for as long as anyone can remember."

The great stone doors that led to the King's chambers opened for them.

Sophie wasn't totally sure what she was supposed to do, but she had enough diplomatic experience to make an educated guess. There was a distinct line in the rock of gold webbing where they stopped and she dropped to one knee, head bowed. Biana followed her example and Dex slapped a fist over his heart, inclining his head in respect.

There was a gentle rumble and a deep, majestic voice said, "I appreciate the gesture, but none of you have need to kneel in my presence."

Biana stood fluidly and Sophie went to copy her motion, stumbling forward when a loose pebble twisted under her foot.

A telekinetic net caught her and supported her as she rose to her feet, cheeks tinted a slight pink in embarrassment. "My apologies, Most Gracious One."

He made a soft _ruk-ruk_ sound in his throat. "Today is not a day for titles and honours, Mrs. Vacker. Call me by my given name of Ceindrin for this meeting."

Sophie looked up eyes widening slightly. The King of Dragons was smaller than she'd thought, although he'd probably shrunk himself down. His golden eyes were weary as he studied them, lingering on his great-grandson.

"I know this meeting is a sudden one. I have asked you here because my time as King of the Dragons is drawing to a close. As Mrs. Vacker has noticed, I am much smaller than I should be. My age has reached the point where I have begun to deteriorate. It is time for me to relinquish my crown and throne to one much more suited for the position than me." He moved his head to look Dex in the eye, bones creaking. "It is time for the younger generation to lead."

Dex frowned. "I'm not sure if I heard you correctly."

"It is time for you to take the throne of the King of the Dragons. I am no longer the king I need to be. I have allowed the Banished Seven to fester and grow and control another world. My influence is weakening and my strength leaving. We need you to lead the dragons back to their former glory, as King of the Dragons and Lord of the Skies." Ceindrin turned to Biana, gaze sorrowful. "I am sorry Clan Cliffbreaker failed your world so badly. The Banished Seven were my responsibility and I failed in my duty. If you choose to take the title of Queen of the Dragons and Voice of the Voiceless, I hope you will do a better job of protecting the innocent and keeping the Wise Ones strong than I did in my fading years."

Biana's eyes flashed and she slapped a fist over her heart. Her answer was in Ancient Draconic, so Sophie had no idea what she said, but it smoothed and softened Ceindrin's expression.

The King of Dragons turned to Sophie last. "It is an honour to finally meet you, Commander Sophie Ruewen, leader of Clan Moonlark. I was impressed to say the least when we saw you rise to the challenge and fill the void that your Council should never have left. It made the Adealan Empire finally turn its eye to the Lost Cities, not in scorn but in wonder, and we watched in awe as a thirteen-year-old girl did things thousands had balked at. And so we will never again turn a blind eye when we see those of the Neverseen's ilk rising. We will not let another child break themselves to save their people, even those that fall into the cracks we allowed to form. If you will accept it as meagre compensation, the Lost Cities will always have a representative that can bring any complaint to the Council of Kings, and, if my great-grandson and his wife keep their ties to their homeland, a seat on the Council itself."

Sophie bowed. "While I accept your praise, it's really not necessary. I just did what I had to do since no one else would."

Dex sighed. "I don't know, Grandfather. Aren't I a bit young to rule the most powerful kingdom standing?"

Ceindrin swung his head back to Dex. "Your age is part of the reason why I chose you over my son Lianí. You may be young, but you have lived through two wars, founded a new clan, and nearly singlehandedly destroyed a faction that has been a blight on dragon-kind of thousands of years. My eldest son will not be happy I chose you over him, but you really are the best choice. If it fits with your schedule, the coronation will be as soon as we can gather the Council of Kings, which will be some time in the next week."

Biana and Dex shared a look and nodded.

"That should work for us. But we'll have to return to the Lost Cities soon after that. We have some loose ends to tie up." Biana leaned down to brush some dirt off of her loose skirt.

Ceindrin blinked slowly in acknowledgement. "Will you be staying until then?"

Dex shook his head. "We need to return to the Lost Cities for our children. Then we'll come back. Is there a way to arrange for permanent accommodation for my family?"

"The mountain above me is dedicated for just that. Those rooms have been waiting for new occupants for easily a thousand years. Bring your children here. We will guard them while you take care of business. And when you retrieve them, please tell your parents they are welcome and encouraged to return to Clan Cliffbreaker."

Dex nodded. All three of them stood to attention, heads bowed in respect, before Mulraym led them back to the surface.

* * *

**The last section of this chapter! Next week we are back to our usual scheduled program! I will be finishing up this story and then after that, I will be taking the rest of the summer off and start publishing a new story on Saturdays starting with the first Saturday of September. There will be a poll on my profile of which story you want first! I will publish both, but I want to know which one you want first. It'll only be up for a week, so get your vote in!**

**As always, reviewers will get a teaser from the next chapter! Just let me know in your review if you don't want a teaser and I will gladly leave you in suspense.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	34. King of the Dragons

**Hello my lovelies! I'll be going to summer camp next week, so that chapter may be late. Or I might just publish two chapter the week after. I'm terribly sorry I forgot about the poll. I'll just leave it up until this book is finished. I want you guys to choose which fandom my next story should be from. Right now, I've got Clone Wars and Keeper of the Lost Cities. I want your guy's votes! If you can't access the poll on my profile, leave your opinion down in the comments. Everyone's opinion will be counted in and the selected story will be published starting on the first Saturday in September.**

* * *

Sophie settled the circlet onto her head. The red and black jewels glittered against her hair. She took a deep breath and smiled, looking her reflection in the eye. Becoming Commander Ruewen again would take a bit of adjusting and she wasn't sure she could ever be as ruthless and cold again as she had been directing battles under that title.

But she was ready for the challenge.

Fitz walked up behind her, handsome as ever in his formal Adealan wear. His circlet was nearly identical to hers, but it lacked the rubies that designated her as a Commander of the Empress's army, instead embedded with the sapphires of the rank just below hers.

She met his eye the mirror and turned to face him.

"Hey beautiful."

"Hey handsome."

He smiled, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "You look powerful, my lady."

"So do you, my lord." Sophie inhaled the slightly sharp scent of his favourite cologne, raising an eyebrow at a new but not unfamiliar scent. "Did you borrow my concealer?"

He considered her question and grinned. "As a matter of fact, I did. I had some pretty bad bruises on my face, so I used a little to cover them up. It actually matches my skin tone almost perfectly. How could you tell?"

She gently rubbed his shoulders as his hands came down to rest on her waist. "I've used that stuff for fifteen years. I recognised the smell."

Someone knocked at their door and called, "Commander Ruewen, your presence is required to look over the security for the coronation."

Sophie drew herself up, smoothing the skirt of her dramatic red and black dress. The main body of it was black, but the neckline, accents and insides of the wide pleats on the skirt with blood red. "Shall I report to the guard's barracks or the war room?"

The guard or servant or whoever had been sent to fetch her cleared his throat. "I need to speak to Commander Ruewen. This is an important military matter that women should not be dabbling in."

Sophie sighed and rolled her eyes. Not this again. "I am Commander Ruewen, good sir, and you did not answer my question. I would suggest you do so."

Fitz matched her exasperated expression. This wasn't the first time some idiot had mistaken Fitz for the illustrious Commander, and not the first time some old fart was going to be embarrassed when he realises that the leader of Clan Moonlark and Esteemed Commander Ruewen, was, in fact, a woman. It was honestly getting old.

She stood tall and walked to the door, waving it open with a hand. The servant's expression went from annoyed to terrified in less than a second as he realized the woman he had so arrogantly dismissed was the Commander.

"I'm sure my cousin will love to hear how you've treated me."

The man blanched. "I beg you, my lady, this was a mere lapse in judgement. It won't happen again, I swear!"

Sophie sighed. "I have been a general of Adeala for over fifteen years. That is more than enough time for one to move past such lapses in judgement. Now, where shall I report to?"

He looked at his boots, shaking. "Th-the military planning room, my lady." The servant left quickly with what remained of his pride.

Fitz joined Sophie in the doorway, offering his arm. She took it, smiling lightly at him.

As they walked through the vaulting halls of Egaëta, Sophie smiled at the happy memories the gleaming white walls contained. It may have been home to her hardest trials, but it also held the happiest moments. Reforging her and her friends from powerful-but-scattered individuals into an elite team. She'd gone from a lost girl with a seemingly hopeless goal to a powerful leader with the ability and will to get things done.

When they got to the door of the planning room, Fitz gently kissed her hand and left her to her meeting. Apparently he wasn't high enough security clearance to attend with her.

Inside were several new faces and a few old friends. Sophie gave curt nod to those she didn't recognise and assumed were ranking members of the guard appointed after she'd left.

Then her gaze lit on a familiar face.

The young man stood, face lighting up as he recognized her. "Commander! I didn't realize you were back in Adeala!"

An older member of the guard tried to make him stand down, but Sophie waved him off. "Rulek, it's good to see you again. And please, as before, dispense with formalities. We are friends still, are we not?"

Rulek beamed. "Of course, ma'am."

"You two know each other?" a slightly younger guard leaning against the wall to her left commented.

Sophie smiled. "Rulek was one of the new soldiers assigned to my battalions when I was under Lady General Iltaurielle Starfinder's apprenticeship. He rose rather quickly in my ranks, as I thought he deserved it. By the time I left, he was one rank short of my second and standard-bearer, the position of which was filled by my now husband."

Rulek grinned, tossing his mop of dark hair out of his eyes. "My first assignment, fresh out of training. I was a little disappointed I wasn't going to be out on the big battlefields or settling fraught disputes, but fighting under Commander Ruewen in the Silver Moon company is and will always be my favourite. We actually still go out for drinks sometimes, those of us that are left in Egaeta at least. You should come with us sometime."

"Unfortunately, I am only staying for the coronation." Sophie took the proffered seat, folding her hands in her lap. "As soon as it is polite to do so, I will be returning to Lost Cities with my family. Maybe once I was a commander and a warrior, but the same fight is no longer in my blood. I am content to lay down my sword and be the wife and mother that my husband and children deserve."

An older man cleared his throat from across the table. "No disrespect meant, Commander, but we should get started."

She smiled, inclining her head gently in acknowledgment. "None taken. It's good to see you again Jule. How is life treating you?"

Jule gave her a small half-smile. "My middle daughter Vrell got married last year. It was a big step for our village, but I'm just glad she's happy, same as her sisters. She and her wife Starla are currently running my Vrella's fabric business. They're here in Egaeta for the trading season."

"That's wonderful, please give them my congratulations. I'll be sure to stop by and see what kind of selection they have if I have time before I leave." Sophie leaned forward, examining the map of the throne room where the coronation would be taking place. She tapped one section of a wall. "No guards by these windows?"

"It seemed a little frivolous, Commander. It's pretty much a sheer cliff straight down to the ocean from there. No one could get in." The guard member who spoke looked a little too young to have been there when she was, so she assumed he didn't know.

Sophie shook her head, running a finger alone a silvery white line on the side of her throat. "Do you see this scar on my neck, Sergent?"

He nodded.

"That scar is from an assassination attempt at a banquet I was attending. That same section of windows was unguarded and my brother and I were standing in front of them talking. I don't remember much else, both from the passage of time and being knocked unconscious, but I was told a man jumped out of the window behind me and tried to cut my throat. He didn't succeed obviously, but yes, someone can get in, they have before, and they nearly killed me. If you can spare the men, place guards along those windows."

"Of course, Commander."

Sophie sat back and listening to them talk, interjecting when she thought it necessary. She didn't end up having much to say. The security of Egaeta was stellar as always and rarely failed.

Jule stood, rolling up the blueprint. "I trust that is all, gentlemen. You may return to your posts."

Sophie stood and swept out of the room, turning down the hall to return to her room.

"Commander, may I walk with you?"

She paused as Rulek ran up behind her. "Just want to catch up. Talk about old times." The young man smiled.

Sophie smiled back. "Of course. I'm just returning to my rooms. I hope that's not too out of your way."

"I'm not on shift now. I take the early bird shift when I can, so I was done at noon. I turn in early to be up for it." He fell in stride with her.

For a split second, Sophie was back on the walls, racing some of her sergeants to the garrison. The last person there would pay for a round of drinks at a tavern or pub of their choice. Then she returned to the present and sighed.

They were older now. Rulek had been a scrappy boy of sixteen on his first assignment when she'd been introduced to her men the first time. She hadn't been much older than he was and some of other her soldiers were a few years older yet.

Now he was taller and so was she. The teenage I'm-gonna-be-a-hero attitude was gone. The sword scabbard on his hip didn't gleam like it used to, now stained by saddle polish and blood. Smooth hands turned calloused and scarred like hers.

"It's been a long time, old friend."

"Yes it has." He sighed. "We grew up, you got married and had kids. I command my own battalion now."

"Oh you do?" Sophie smiled. "What's their name and sigil?"

He tapped the black crest over his heart. Sophie would be lying if she said she felt nothing seeing her Clan Moonlark banner replaced by something else.

"Black Fox, company two, under Kreis Stiga. Sadly, I'm not under Lady General Iltaurielle anymore. Although she and her battalions are out on the front lines, so I don't envy them at the moment."

"Iltaurielle's not here? I thought she would be, considering how big of an event this is."

"No ma'am. The Gracious Empress made a valiant effort to extract her to get her here in time, but they were too deep in the fighting. We sent what reinforcements we could spare."

Sophie sighed. "That's too bad. I was hoping to stop by and say hi to her. It's been far too long since I've seen my old teacher. Do you know how she's doing?"

Rulek frowned, thinking. "She's been transferring a lot of her responsibility around and took another apprentice that she's training a lot differently than she trained you and your friends. My best guess is she's preparing to leave her post. As for why, I think she's finally returning to her homeland."

"Wow." Sophie stopped to let a heavily-burdened young lady through. "After all this time?"

"I know, it's a bit of a shock to everyone. But both her and her husband have been spending more and more time outside Adeala's borders according to some friends of mine still serving under her. I hope she's finally reconciling with her family after easily a few hundred years away. But it will mean we're losing two of our best generals."

They stopped in front of Sophie's rooms and Rulek bowed. "It was wonderful to see you again, Commander. If you're ever back here, Sunset Sailor right after the afternoon shift. We're usually at the table in the back or at the bar."

Sophie smiled at the mention of her favourite tavern down by the docks. "If I get the chance, I'll be sure to stop by. Might bring my husband, brother, sister-in-law, that kind of thing."

"Feel free, the more the merrier. I'll return to my garrison now. I may run into you at the coronation banquet, but only if I'm not on duty or asleep."

"Of course. I'll let you get back to your duties."

Rulek gave her another small bow before jogging off in the direction they'd come from.

Fitz walked up behind her, resting his hands on her waist. "Was that who I thought it was? He looked familiar."

"Yes, Rulek. You remember him from my battalion?"

"Yeah. Bright, scrappy kid. I liked him. How's he doing?"

"He said he's doing well. He's been transferred to another company though. He's under Kreis Stiga now." Sophie set her hands over Fitz's, gently rubbing her thumbs over the back of his hands. "Iltaurielle's not here."

He rested his chin on her shoulder. "She's not? Why? This is a once-in-a-hundred-thousand-years event and she's the senior general. I thought she was required to attend them."

"Apparently she's caught in some fighting and she's in too deep to get back in time. Which is a shame, I'd hoped to see her again."

"Were you not wanting to come back?" He pulled her gently back into their rooms, though he left the door open. "We can always come back if you want. Bring the kids. I'm sure they'd love it."

Sophie sighed, leaning her head against Fitz's shoulder. "I understand what you're saying, and you are right, the kids would love it here, but…it doesn't feel right for our family. They've had enough upset and as happy as we were back then, those kids are gone now. We grew up. Our home is exclusively in the Lost Cities now. We have our own kids and our own lives to tend to. Maybe in a few hundred years, when our kids are grown up and the Lost Cities has had time to adjust and fix itself, the Council will send us on a diplomatic mission here. But for now, no, I don't really want to come back."

He buried his nose in her hair, though careful not to disturb her updo. "I understand. You missed a lot and it's time we just lived our lives the way we want to live them. We wanted to do that after the war, but with the Banished Seven still in power, we didn't get to do that."

A young messenger ran up, breathing hard. "Commander Ruewen and Lieutenant Vacker." He bowed briefly from the waist. "I was sent to fetch you. The Gracious Empress wants you both to be in your seats before the public starts entering."

Sophie nodded. "Of course. If you will lead the way?"

The messenger led them to through the halls to a wing they had never been in before. Sophie didn't slow down to stare and neither did Fitz, but both of them were actively studying their surroundings.

"If I may ask, what part of the citadel is this?"

"This hallway leads to the royal family's rooms. At the end of it is the great coronation hall. It hasn't been used since our Empress came into power, over five thousand years ago. This is one of the only remaining sections of the old city from when it was first built by the dragons and Ag'tan who founded the first Clans and the Empire of Adeala."

Sophie whistled softly. "It must be hundreds of thousands of years old. And it looks just like the rest of the citadel."

Instead of leading them through the massive mahogany doors at the end of the hallway, the messenger boy showed them a small secret door cut into the stone just to the side of it. "This will take you into a small room where there are doors into the main room, and to a staircase up to the box you'll be seated in for the coronation. The Gracious Lord and his Lady will also have access to the room. You four are family as we understand it?"

Fitz nodded. "Biana's my sister and Dex is Sophie's adopted cousin. Thank you for showing us here. What is your name?"

"Avaeri, son of Rulek, my lord."

Sophie smiled, gently rubbing Fitz's arm. "Oh, you're Rulek's son? The Rulek who served in Silver Moon Battalion under Lady Iltaurielle?"

Avaeri nodded. "One and the same, my lady."

"I was his direct superior. I'll be sure to tell your father what a good job you've done."

Pink dusted his cheekbones. "Thank you, my lady."

The room was small and rather plain, meant just as a joining room to the other rooms. It had simple white stone walls and floor, with two couches facing each other in the middle of the room.

Biana was sitting on the couch facing them, head in her hands and wings out behind her.

Sophie dropped Fitz's arm and walked over, sitting next to her. She set a gentle hand on Biana's shoulder, waiting for her to look up before speaking.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not ready." Biana whispered. "I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready to lead the most powerful race of sentient creatures in existence. I might be an incredibly powerful dragoness and the Last Dragonborn, but that doesn't mean I'm ready for this!"

Sophie hugged her tightly. "I wouldn't be either. It's a big responsibility and by draconic standards you're basically a toddler. You're about to undertake something only about twenty people have before. But you can do this. You're the Last Dovahkiin. You're one of the founding members of Clan Moonlark. If anyone's got this, it's you and Dex. There hasn't been a Queen of the Dragons since Frimylth the Brave was killed in the Last Sorcerer's War. I can't think of anyone better to take up the mantle of Queen of the Dragons and Voice of the Voiceless than you."

Fitz sat on Biana's other side, setting an arm around his sister. "Yeah. This is huge. It's gonna feel daunting. You remember when we got our first assignment and Sophie made me her second? I was terrified. I didn't know anything about leading anyone, much less a company into battle, and have most of them make it out alive. But then I actually got out there and discovered I knew a lot more than I thought I did and half the scenarios I came up with in my head never happened. You have the Council of Kings and Kesler and Ceindrin if he stays and there's probably a bunch of advisors too. You're not alone."

Biana smiled, hugging them each in turn. "Thank you guys. It sounds a lot less scary when you put it that way."

Sophie pulled back, studying Biana's elaborate royal blue gown decorated with gold braiding and gold topaz and diamonds set into the braid. "You look amazing by the way."

"Thank you. This dress was a righteous pain to put on. It's really structured and my body's changed over time, so it took some finagling to get me into it. My formal headdress is going to have to be resized. It wasn't able to be done before the coronation, so we're having to settle for temporary modifications to make it fit and not fall off my head."

Fitz smiled. "Is Dex just as bad?"

"Dex is doing better than me. He's already had quite a bit of responsibility as Prince of Dragons. So it's really just a step up for him. I had plenty of influence as the Last Dovahkiin, but no actual power to make decisions and stuff."

Sophie's ear twitched, picking up the whisper of conversation slipping through the small gap under the door to the main room. "Hey Fitz, I think we're supposed to be in the main hall now. I can hear people talking."

He nodded. "I heard them too. You good Biana?"

She wiped her eyes and sat up straight. "Yeah. Just got to get through this next hour or two and then there's the banquet, which I can do, and then Dex and I have the next twenty-four hours to ourselves. So it's really just the coronation. By the way, it's going to be done in the Ag'tan native language, which Dex and I naturally speak and most everyone understands, so sorry. They don't have a translator for you guys."

Sophie gave a her a supportive smile. "It's okay Biana. We'll be fine. I'm not sure it matters that much anyway."

She and Fitz stood after giving Biana a final hug. The grand coronation hall was still mostly empty, with a few scattered people taking their seats. Fitz offered his arm and Sophie took it. They ascended the plush carpeted stairs together to the viewing box set aside for them.

The decoration around them was tasteful and elegant, making Sophie smile as she sat down.

People filed in at a slow but steady rate, taking their seats in the rows below. Any hushed conversations were quickly wrapped up as the participants sat down. Keefe, Linh, Tam, and Marella joined them in the box, the latter two choosing to stand.

Once every single seat was filled, the large doors shut with a rolling _boom_.

Silence stretched on for over a minute. Sophie was just starting to get nervous when a single person stepped out of the wall and onto the stage. Her first thought was Phaser, but then she remembered this wasn't the Lost Cities. There must be an illusion built into the wall.

The woman Sophie assumed was the Great Empress of Adeala had none of the elegant grandness that surrounded her. Her dress was plain white cotton, with a belt of the same material. Her hair was done in a knot at the nape of her neck with no fuss. She wore no jewelry besides a simple gold wedding band on her right middle finger. Her face was young and gentle.

But there was something about her that denoted that she was the most powerful person on this planet.

In near unison, everyone in the room stood and knelt. Sophie and everyone else in the box with her copied the motion.

They remained kneeling for several seconds before a majestic, feminine voice echoed through the room.

"Rise."

They stood, reassuming their seats and waiting to see what would happen next.

The great doors opened again and the loud thud of a large dragon landing sounded outside. Sophie fought the urge to lean over the edge and gape like a child, but she allowed herself to squeal and gasp and writhe in excitement on the inside.

Dex and Biana had always been impressive in traditional Adealan clothing, but this was on another level.

Dex was wearing an ostensibly simple military-cut tunic and pants, but with every movement he made, precious metals and small jewels woven into the fabric glittered in the light of the large braziers set along the rooms walls. On his head was a helmet sort of thing, wrought to resemble a dragon's skull, twisted out of thick wire with rubies for eyes. His hair, which he'd kept just barely shoulder-length, was parted down the back of his head and twisted up to leave the back of his neck exposed. His wings were held in a neutral position, hooks at the top level with his head.

Biana, in addition to the impressive dress which proved to be made of the same fabric as Dex's clothes just in blue instead of beige, wore a cape of light sheer royal blue fabric fastened to her neck and wrists with gold cuffs, set with every colour of jewel imaginable. It split in two places to drape around her wings. Her headdress was similar to Dex's, but lighter and with swirls of silver on the gold. Her hair was twisted in an identical manner to Dex's, but because it was so much longer the tails draped down her back.

They walked the long aisle, carpeted with a lush red runner, without touching each other and eyes focused straight ahead. If Sophie remembered correctly, the tradition arose from a time when the King of Dragons did not get to chose who would rule beside him, so that neither King nor Queen could reject the other until they were bound to rule together.

They knelt in front of the Empress, Biana tilting her head at an awkward angle to keep her headdress from falling off. Sophie wasn't sure why she was holding her breath, but she let it out, carefully returning to her normal breathing pattern.

The words in Ag'tanal flowed and swirled like honey as the Empress spoke. Sophie had no idea what she was saying, but it was probably very important. The inflection on the last sentence made it sound like a question and Dex answered in the same language. The language shift made his voice seem richer and more musical. They went back and forth a few times before the Empress lifted one hand and sheathed it in a a swirling, sparking fire.

She pressed the pad of her pointer finger to Dex's neck, burning a black line from the bone at the base of his neck to his hairline. He tensed ever so slightly in pain. If she didn't know her cousin so well, Sophie wouldn't have noticed.

The Empress extinguished the fire. She turned to Biana and her voice rang out through the grand hall again, asking similar questions of the Last Dovahkiin. Biana answered with only a slight tremble in her voice.

Apparently satisfied with the answers she received, the Empress burned an identical line on Biana's neck.

Sophie registered the language shift as the Empress returned to Dex. The words became majestic and booming, curling and biting at the edges. She still didn't understand a word of it.

Dex answered in the same language, small wisps of smoke still curling from the burn on his neck.

Two thinner curved lines were added to the straight one, tracing up from the edge curved up and down respectively to form what sort of looked like an hourglass, but without any lines on the top and bottom.

Biana tensed slightly when it was her turn, switching to Ancient Draconic as well. The Empress did repeat her question once, apparently not getting a satisfactory answer. But in the end the same two lines were added to her neck.

The Empress stepped back, raising her hands and switching to a language they could understand. This was apparently Dex's cue to stand and turn to face the audience.

"Dex, son of Chyvren, of Clan Cliffbreaker, King of the Dragons and Lord of the Skies!"

Biana stood next, taking the arm Dex offered to her in support.

"Biana, daughter of Della, of Clan Moonlark, Queen of the Dragons and Voice of the Voiceless!"

Fitz gently pressed on Sophie's mind and she acknowledged him. _Why'd they say Clan Moonlark for Biana instead of Clan Cliffbreaker? Her clan changed when she got engaged._

Sophie racked her brain and was able to come up with a passable answer._ I think they say birth clan instead of current clan for these kinds of ceremonies. A lot of dragons change clans in their lifetimes, so they make sure to specify. If Dex had chosen to transfer to Clan Moonlark when they got engaged, they'd still say Clan Cliffbreaker for him here, since that'd be his birth clan. But all that's only a guess, we'd have to ask to be sure._

Dex raised his free hand, clenched in a fist and sheathed in golden flame. Biana copied his motion with fire the same shade as her blazing eyes. In unison, they brought the fire to their mouths and blew. Sophie knew the fire was supposed to spread upwards into the crest of Clan Cliffbreaker.

Biana's half swirled upward just as it was supposed to, forming a delicate pattern in the air above them.

Dex sneezed.

His fire promptly scattered and vanished, throwing soot and smoke all over both him and his Queen.

The room was dead silent, except for the crackling of Biana's flames.

"Oops."

The silence was broken by laughter as first the Empress, then the first few rows, then the whole room, dissolved into giggles. Biana was the only one not bent over laughing, and that was because she was still controlling the fire spread across half the ceiling.

"Go ahead and try again," The Empress said after containing her mirth and straightening.

Dex summoned another ball of fire and blew. This time it swirled upwards and settled into the other half of the pattern, forming the sigil of Clan Cliffbreaker and the King of the Dragons.

* * *

Sophie smiled as yet another old colleague extended a hand and asked her to dance. The coronation banquet had been one reunion after another. So many old friends she'd thought she'd been saying a forever goodbye to when she'd left Adeala almost twenty years ago.

"Of course, Gwydion, is it?"

He returned her smile, taking her arm and leading her onto the dance floor. "Yes, my lady. Have you been faring well since last we met?"

Sophie noted the beat of the slow waltz, stepping in time with it. "That depends on what time in my life you're talking about. The ten years after I returned home were the best of my life. I got married, had children, raised them. I helped my parents with their animal preserve and we finally rehabilitated that Tyrannosaurus Rex that they've had for something like twenty years. But we decided to keep her on the property, just because we'd miss her too much if she were gone. What about you?"

"I'm serving as a member of the Empress' personal guard." Gwydion guided her gracefully out of the way of another couple. "After serving with our Senior General, I apparently caught her eye and I was transferred over. Only the most trusted are ever transferred anywhere close to Her Majesty, much less her personal guard. It's so much more than a prestigious position. I'm privy to almost all of Adeala's classified information."

"That sounds interesting. Anything else going on?"

"My sister Starla got married."

Sophie grinned. "She did? Who's the lucky one?"

"I don't know if Jule already told you, but she married his middle daughter Vrell."

"He did tell me! What a small world! How wonderful for both of them. How did your parents take it?"

Gwydion shrugged. "Well enough. Our father wasn't exactly happy she married a human, and our colony passes down surnames and property through the maternal line, so Mother wasn't happy that any children Starla's inheritance would be passed to would be adopted. The rest of our family doesn't really have much to say."

Fitz stepped up behind Gwydion and tapped him on the shoulder. "Mind if I steal her from you?"

The wood-elf twirled Sophie under his arm and passed her to Fitz. "Not at all, milord."

* * *

**What did y'all think of the coronation? It took me forever to write. I also wrote this chapter during Pride Month, so I felt I should add a little something for that. **

**If you liked it, drop a review/follow/favourite down below to let me know! If you didn't, tell me why! I love hearing constructive criticism from you guys. Reviewers will get a teaser from my next chapter! (Just let me know if you don't want one.)**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	35. Beginning of New Hope

**I'm back from camp! I will be leaving again for a different camp next week, so any reviews I will not be able to answer until next Saturday.**

* * *

Sophie sighed, working her fingers under the edge of her corset and tugging. "Ugh. Biana laced it too tight again."

Fitz winced. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah. I'm grateful for the support, but it's digging into my hips. Could you loosen the lower few holes for me, just a little?"

"Of course." He pulled her in front of him and tugged the lacing on her dress at the waist just loose enough for him to slip his hands under the fabric and untie the corset. Sophie sighed, relaxing as the pressure on her hips vanished. "It'll be a little tight when I retie it, but it should be better."

"That's fine." She wrinkled her nose when the boned fabric pulled firm against her back again. "I just don't like corsets. They're the worst."

Fitz redid her dress and slid his hands around her waist. "Well, after this, you'll never have to wear one again if you don't want to."

"Good. Would you be too upset if I burned it?"

"No, but I think other people might. After all, it isn't ours." Fitz rapped four times on the inside of their door and it opened. "Was the peace summit all that bad last time?"

"Last time, the castle's foundations exploded, dear."

"Fair point."

They stepped into Luminaria's halls and the goblins outside their door led them to the treaty room. It wasn't all that different from the last time she'd been there, at the age of only fourteen. Over twenty-five years had passed since then. People had died, some had come back, some loyalties broken, new ones forged. Friendships tested. Battles fought, and won. And in the end, scarred, cracked, and not quite whole, here they were. Victorious.

But still unable to rest.

The leaders of the other species had demanded a peace summit immediately after the news of the Banished Seven's existence had been disclosed. Sophie was perfectly willing to oblige them, even if her only other memories of Luminaria weren't pleasant ones.

Everyone else was waiting for them. The Council, with an ostensibly empty chair in between Oralie and a Councillor whose name Sophie still didn't know. Most of them looked uncomfortable, staring at their laps. Oralie and Bronte alone looked even slightly confident, though even they paled slightly when Sophie and Fitz entered the room.

Next to them, the ogre royal family. Sophie had been surprised when King Dimitar had requested his wife and daughter be allowed to attend the summit and she had seen no reason to refuse. The ogre queen was much the same as other ogres, but she carried a kind, motherly air and her forehead tattoos were edged with silver and gold. Ro had chosen to stand, resting the end of her massive battle-axe on the ground. She'd replaced the spike on the end with the dragon tooth she'd taken from Eimmod so everyone who saw it knew she had faced a dragon of the Banished Seven, and won.

On the Council's other side was Queen Hylda, looking both furious and shaken. Sophie knew goblin queen would act as fair and objective as she could, but Sophie wouldn't blame any of them for being unreasonable after discovering their people had been lied to since the Lost Cities' inception.

Empress Pernielle sat looking at the table in front of her, hands folded in her lap. She had admitted to knowing a little of the Banished Seven, but nothing to the extent of the hold they had over the elvin world.

Queen Nubiti had head held high, eyes brimming with confidence. She had no more information than anyone else at the table, but she had a full, unshakable trust in the moonlark. The moonlark Sophie finally had the freedom to be.

There was no gnome representative there. Flori had told her that whatever the moonlark decided was good enough for them.

There were four empty chairs, two with their backs to the door and two perpendicular.

Fitz pulled out their chairs and they sat smoothly, backs perfectly straight.

When no one else seemed willing to speak, King Dimitar sighed. "Well, since no one seems to want to speak up, I may as well start the discussion."

Sophie allowed herself to relax the tiniest bit. "If you want more information about the Banished Seven, I can tell you what is relevant and not classified. Please bear in mind that any information I may withhold is not out of malice, but out of loyalty. I gave my solemn oath that many of the things you will likely ask not be shared and I cannot break it. I hope you will not ask me to."

Empress Pernielle sighed. "I don't need more information. I know about the atrocities they committed and I assisted in. I know I was unaware of their true identities and purpose, but I was still an accomplice, unwitting or no."

"We don't blame you." Fitz assured her gently. "I held Councillor Emery in highest esteem, only to find out he is the reason for the cracks in our world. It was the same with Fallon and Luzia Vacker, but lesser so since I had only met them once or twice. All of us trusted at least one, if not multiple of the Banished Seven. If you are willing to forgive the other rulers for being caught in the trap, forgive yourself as well."

Queen Hylda leaned her elbows on the table, head in her hands. "I do want information. I want to know how far back their treachery goes. How long exactly have we been lied to?"

Sophie shrugged. "We don't know. The record keepers in Egaeta are meticulous and most of them have completely eidetic memories. But it seems the Banished Seven were exiled before the current method of record-keeping was put into place. Their reliable-to-a-tee records only go back around nine thousand years, but the slightly less reliable ones go back into oblivion. It's an ancient kingdom, ruled by a race even more long-lived than the elves. Their estimate is around 10, 500 years. I'm not sure if they came to the Lost Cities immediately, but I do know their point of arrival is when history started to pick up the pace, taking advantage of the formidable draconic mindpower. My personal estimation would be however far back your records go."

Nubiti leaned back in her chair. "So since before the founding of the Lost Cities."

"I believe so, yes."

Empress Pernielle let out a shaky breath. "Well, it is slightly reassuring to know I am not the first to be led astray."

Dimitar sighed. "What are you allowed to tell us?"

"That depends on the question." Sophie answered, taking Fitz's hand under the table. He squeezed her fingers gently.

The ogre queen, Gundala if Sophie remember correctly, spoke. Her voice was pleasant to hear, though not lacking a gravelly undertone. "What do we need to know in order to move forward?"

Fitz glanced at Sophie out of the corner of his eye and she gave him a nearly imperceptible nod. "We are able to move forward as we are, but I assume this will not be satisfactory to you?"

Most of them shook their heads.

"Then we will start at the beginning and continue from there."

Sophie started. "The Banished Seven were a group of seven Titan dragons who were caught committing horrible treason. They were exiled to this planet for their actions. It was believed that the lack of magical energy would render them helpless. This, as you have likely deduced, is not what happened. One of their number was Luminence the Lifeleech. She had a, as far as I know unique, ability to draw the life force out of a being and use it to strengthen herself. She was able to weave a net of energy around the globe to pull strength from all the other creatures on the planet with them. At that point, there were so many it did not adversely affect any single person or race in particular."

Queen Hylda's eyes widened. "The elves would not have allowed it."

"Had they remembered the Seven were not always their leaders and strongest minds." Fitz answered. "Tyrginth was the middle of three hatchlings. The eldest was Luminence, the middle Tyrginth, the youngest Chyvren. Both Tyrginth and Chyvren excelled at matters of the mind. But Tyrginth saw opportunity wherever he saw freedom. His strength lay in meddling with minds. Replacing, changing, and wiping memories to cultivate his perfect civilization, and to keep the others in line. The only reason why he could not do this with humans is there were too many and they did not listen to their rulers. He would have had to individually reform each human if he wanted his perfect civilization, including the new ones being born. It was too much work and Titans are honestly really lazy."

Empress Pernielle straightened. "Which of the Banished Seven was Chyvren?"

Sophie shook her head. "He wasn't. I know who he is, but that's all I can say about him at the moment."

Dimitar sighed. "That doesn't explain the Neverseen though. Why would they be working against each other, especially two siblings?"

Fitz shrugged. "We don't know. What we have assumed is they disagreed over humans. Luminence was willing to put in the time and effort of bending the humans to their will and Tyrginth saw them as a lost cause. After the Council discovered the atrocities she caused, they had no choice but to imprison her in Luminaria or lose all credibility with their people and the other intelligent species. In order to give herself a cover in case she was discovered and a scapegoat to keep the Banished Seven from being uncovered, she took a few disgruntled elves under her wing and named them the Neverseen. She just found herself on the other side of a divide she had created. The other six had no choice if they wanted to keep control. Would any of your people have stayed under your treaties with the elves if you had known any of this information?"

"Of course not." Queen Hylda growled. "A mistake I mean to rectify. I want to rewrite all our treaties. I refuse to hold my people and myself to a treaty made with a murderer."

Nubiti shook her head. "I disagree. I do not enjoy the fact that I made a treaty with the same faction responsible for this mess, but why rewrite it? We have everything we want under them. If the Council will agree, we may make them looser, but why should we rewrite it entirely simply because of a bad taste in your mouth?"

"I agree with the dwarf." Dimitar sat up straight. "The current treaties we have with the elves satisfy all our needs, so unless the Council has a reason to rewrite it, I would like mine to stay as it is."

The goblin queen sighed, conceding the point.

Sophie looked at the Council members, all of whom were staring at their laps. "Do any of you have something to say?"

Oralie shook her head. "No. We cannot give an opinion until we are able to confer together and we don't have a Telepath on the Council currently." They had chosen to keep Jolie's ability under wraps, so unless something changed, Kenric would be left out of the picture.

Ro scoffed. "Do any of you have opinions as individuals? You might as well give up on the united front. Everyone knows now it was never really there."

Bronte sighed. "I would like to review the older treaties and make sure we are not holding anyone to anything they don't like or didn't know about. Knowing the forces I have served my entire life were a lie will take getting used to."

"What are you going to do about replacing Emery?" Dimitar said. "I think I can speak for everyone when I say I will only accept certain people."

Queens Hylda and Nubiti nodded.

Oralie looked down at her lap again. "We will select a few people that everyone here approves of and then have our people vote. The majority of them don't know the situation at the moment. We will hold a Tribunal of sorts to tell them what is going on, and demand that everyone possible attend. And make sure the gnomes still want to stay after this whole affair. I know some of them were contemplating moving to Ravagog to add back some of the plants and things. See what would happen if you combined your expertise in microbiology with their knowledge of plants."

Empress Pernielle stood, chair squeaking on the floor. "My only requirement for the new Council member is that they be affiliated with the Black Swan in some manner. I don't care who or how public their connection is. Just that it exists. Assuming you do not need me for the remainder of the meeting, I will retire to my rooms and look over the ancient treaties for anything that concerns me."

Fitz set his hand on the table, palm pressed lightly into the stone. "There is one more issue we need to bring to light before you leave. And it is far more pressing than what we have just discussed. The Banished Seven may have dramatically affected the past, but this could affect the future."

Ro grinned. "This is the fun part!"

Dimitar turned to his daughter and raised an eyebrow as the troll empress took her seat again.

"I know what he's talking about and it's really cool. You'll see."

Sophie smiled. "The clan Tyrginth, Luminence and Chyvren were from is Clan Cliffbreaker. They are the most ancient and powerful dragon clan because the line of the King of Dragons passes through that clan and has as far back as records go. Those three were the children of the former king, Lianí." It was a slight lie, but easier than explaining the whole stupid story she didn't even remember. "Luminence left her birth clan for Clan Lightbreath, meaning she couldn't succeed her father, and Tyrginth was deemed unsuitable as soon as his crimes came to light. Chyvren renounced the possibility of ever taking the throne when he moved to the Lost Cities to be with his wife. Since King Lianí has abdicated, there is a new King of the Dragons, one very aware of the Lost Cities. The eldest son of Chyvren."

Ro groaned. "You're dragging it out. Just say it."

Sophie giggled. What Ro had said was technically very rude, especially in such a tense diplomatic setting, but she was right. "I don't have to say it. He'll be here any second now."

She reached out telepathically to find Dex, noting he was a little behind where he should be.

_Sorry. My stupid ceremonial armour is annoyingly hard to put on. It looks really impressive though._

_Is the Queen accompanying her King?_ she asked, avoiding using names just in case someone was listening. One could never be too careful.

_Yeah, she's here. And looking amazing._

Sophie withdrew, smiling the smile of someone who holds many secrets. "The King of the Dragons and Lord of the Skies is here. Be careful, both he and his Queen are dangerous and powerful, though at the moment that power is in our favour. This is not a threat and please do not take it as such. Just a warning of the kind of strength dragons have."

Ro snickered. Her mother reached over and smacked her arm.

The door opened slowly and it took every ounce of Sophie's willpower, and some of Fitz's, to lower her head respectfully in the direction of the King and Queen of Dragons and not glance and giggle at everyone else's reactions.

Although she hadn't been expecting them to deck themselves out in their coronation finery. Even if it was impressive, and intimidating.

Dex had forgone his elvin eye colour, leaving his irises blazing, unsettling gold. His crown/helmet/whatever the dragons were thinking of when they made that was set with onyx and rubies.

Biana held her head high. Sophie knew it wasn't to look superior or anything, just to keep her stupid crown on her head. It must not have been resized to her yet.

Once it was respectful, they turned to face the rest of the table again.

Oralie had flat out fainted on the table out of shock and two other Councillors were trying to revive her. Bronte was white as a ghost and squeezing the arms of his chair hard enough to break them. The other nine didn't know them as well, but they were still terrified. When Sophie ghosted over they minds, gauging their general thoughts, she had to bite her lip hard to stop herself from giggling. Every one of them were picking apart all their memories of interacting with the Dizznee family, hoping they hadn't said or done anything too bad.

Dimitar swore under his breath and stared. His queen didn't know them as well, but understood this was a huge development. Ro was trying not to cackle in delight at everyone else's reactions.

Queen Hylda straightened in her chair and paled. Sophie noted her fidgeting and the corner of her own mouth quirked up.

Empress Pernielle yelped in surprise, face going red. She swayed in her chair, nearly fainting herself.

Queen Nubiti didn't react outwardly. She looked at Sophie and noted her expression, then looked back at Dex and Biana, waiting to hear what they had to say.

They sat in unison, Biana wobbling almost imperceptibly to keep the headdress on her head. Dex's lips slowly spread into a wide smile, which wasn't very encouraging since it bared the four elongated canines that didn't really count as fangs, but were still wicked sharp and intimidating. "I see I am acquainted with most of you. Oh dear, is Councillor Oralie feeling alright? She looks a little pale."

Bronte recovered his composure and forced himself to relax. "She'll be fine. Just a little shocked is all. But how?"

Biana chuckled. "I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate, Councillor."

A different Councillor asked, "How did you manage to live in the Lost Cities for so long with us knowing?"

Dex's smile widened. "I'm afraid I can't tell you. That information is highly classified."

Dimitar rolled his eyes.

"I am quite serious. The methods we used are only taught to high-ranking officials of the elite information-gathering force of the Adealan Empire. I really can't tell you."

Biana smiled, gently inclining her head in Sophie's direction. Delicate scales clicked into place along her cheekbones as she spoke. "I know many of you are wondering what we will demand."

Most of the rulers gave her an expectant look, not challenging the statement at all.

"The answer is nothing."

This started a wave of confused murmurs and frightened looks.

Dex sighed. "No it's not a ploy to get what we want. We want absolutely nothing out of the Lost Cities. Just to ensure that those affected badly by this are taken care of and that my family in the Lost Cities are left alone. As long as these terms are met, we will leave and you will never see or hear from us again. Fail, and we will return for you."

Most of the Council nodded, understanding that the threat was mostly directed at them. Oralie slowly came to, shaking and tense.

Queen Hylda masked her shock with anger. "How do we know we can trust you?"

Dex let his face return to a neutral expression. "I am the son of Chvryen. My father rejected his claim to the throne and I was next in line. Despite my elvin heritage, which many argued made me unfit to rule, my grandfather Lianí chose to abdicate in favour of me and me alone." It was a slight lie, but the whole truth was so much more complicated and even they didn't know all of it.

"He would not have done so if he did not believe I could rule just as well or better than he could. The other dragons of Clan Cliffbreaker would not have accepted me as king if they did not believe I was the best of the position. The Empress and Ruling Queen of Adeala would not have given me my hereditary rank and seat on the Council of Kings, an honor, may I remind you, none of you or your predecessors have ever achieved, if she did not trust me. I would not be here if I were not the best for the position. Does that answer your question?"

The goblin queen nodded, looking at her lap.

Dimitar snorted. "You obviously want something, or you wouldn't be here. So be honest. What do you want from us?"

Biana's smile faded. "As my husband has said, we want nothing from you. We simply want you to understand the position you are in. I can command armies of tens of thousands should I ask for them. Even now, indoors, I can call as much flame as I would like." Deep blue flickers crawled across her fingers as she spoke. "There are almost twenty rulers who are now aware of how deep the corruption went in the Lost Cities and surrounding areas and they are angry. If I give the word, they will not hesitate to storm and conquer your cities. And believe me, they will win. It is they that want something from you and they want you to prove that the corruption has been thoroughly purged. Not just destroying the Neverseen and removing the Banished Seven from power, but removing every trace of their influence. Some have even called for all of you to be deposed and replaced, but we made it clear that won't be happening. But your positions are very, very precarious."

"Is that a threat, Most Gracious One?" Nubiti asked, using the proper honorific for the Dragon Queen.

Dex inclined his head slightly. "No. Simply a warning. If you are able to prove your worth, the Council of Kings is perfectly happy to leave you to your own devices as they have for thousands of years. But it will mean we will have to scour your cities for traces of draconic magic. We have already removed several ability-dampening nets from around several cities, specifically weakening Telepaths, Empaths, Mesmers and Inflictors. There are most likely more we have yet to find, including specialised shields around individual people or houses. It will take time to root out all the controls, but it can be done."

Bronte nodded. "I thought I was feeling stronger. Although, my control has been increasing just as much. Does the Council of Kings care what we do with replacing the Banished Seven, Emery specifically?"

"His name is Tyrginth. We would prefer you call him that." Sophie corrected. "They have asked for a member of Clan Moonlark, but they will be satisfied with anyone affiliated with me."

"What is Clan Moonlark?" Dimitar asked, fiddling with a small knife.

Sophie bit her lip, not sure how to explain. "Among the dragons and most benders of the Adealan Empire is a system of clans to indicate power, family line, or an affiliated political faction. They're usually named after a title given to the clan's founder. Clan Cliffbreaker was founded by some of the very first of Adeala, those who carved out the mountain and built the city. So the dragon's ruling clan was named Clan Cliffbreaker. There is nothing wrong with being clanless, there are a lot people who don't have a clan. But it became important for me and for us to be a member of a clan and there was no way we would be accepted into an existing one."

Fitz picked up the story for her. "New clans are almost never founded. Lady Starfinder found it important that we make our own, partly to give the Lost Cities a voice when they were being discussed and partly to give us the support we would need. Originally, it was just the eight of us, even though Dex was technically Clan Cliffbreaker. Our parents and all of our children are automatically part of the clan unless they were already members of another one. Several Black Swan members have been inducted, including some you know. Juline is the exception as she is already Clan Cliffbreaker."

"Juline Dizznee is a member of Clan Cliffbreaker?" Councillor Ramira asked. Sophie grinned inwardly, proud of herself for remembering Ramira's name.

Dex nodded. "In future, please refer to my mother by her proper title, which is either Duchess or Queen depending on how formal you wish to be. My mother became Clan Cliffbreaker as soon as she became engaged to my father. She knew everything long before then."

"I…see." The Councillor sat up ramrod straight, staring at the edge of the table in front of her.

Empress Pernielle stood again. "If you'll excuse me, I will retire to my rooms."

Biana and Dex glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes and didn't stop her.

After the troll empress left, Bronte steered the conversation back to the former topic. "Do any of you have a preference for the new Councillor?"

Dimitar grunted. "I don't know if you're willing to bend your rule, but the King of Dragons seems like a worthy candidate."

Dex shook his head. "Even if you wished to give me the position, I would decline. I don't wish to linger here any longer than necessary. Our children and my parents have left the Lost Cities and so will we as soon as our business is concluded here."

Sophie tuned out the rest of the legal debate, trusting her photograph memory to record everything for her to look back over later. Fitz let her know when she needed to take note of anything important. They did mention in passing that Fitz was a likely candidate for the position, but without any seriousness.

As soon as they were let out, Sophie leapt herself home and changed. She was so glad she never had to see a corset again.

* * *

Several days later, their family, plus Grady and Edaline gathered at the beach of Cliffside to celebrate the new Councillor's election. Most of the children were snuggled in laps with blankets and snacks aplenty.

Sophie had seen the bright flash that announced the election of a new Councillor twice before, but hearing her children's excited gasps and giggles made it all that more exciting.

The messenger left the scroll and it was a bit of a struggle to keep eager little hands from prying it open and trying to peek at the name inside before the instructed time.

Ry bounced up and down in Sophie's lap, giggling. The tiny ball of Everblaze in his lap gave him his sight, just for this occasion. "Open it Daddy, open it!"

Fitz laughed. "We have to wait just a little bit longer. Can you count down from thirty?"

"Hmm." He grinned, forehead scrunching up as he counted. "Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven, twenty-six, ummm…"

"Twenty-five." Sophie prompted.

"Twenty-four twenty-three twenty-two twenty-one." Hope hurried on, mashing her words together a little.

"Hope, slow down, you're not counting right." Destiny leaned over and poked her sister in the ribs.

"Don't poke me, Dessy!" Hope stuck out her tongue.

Fitz chuckled. "Don't stick out your tongue, Hope, it's not nice. How about we finish counting down together?"

"Actually, the time's up." Jolie answered, reaching for the bowl of chocolates. "I've been counting in my head."

"Okay then. Who wants to open it?"

Several little voices clamoured, "Me, me, me, me, me!" and all seven children reached for the scroll, even Jolie, with mirth crinkling the corners of her eyes.

Fitz laughed, holding it out of reach above his head. "Calm down! How about your mama opens it?"

Sophie smiled, taking the scroll and laughing when Ry grabbed for it. She broke the seal and unrolled it, holding it up high out of her children's reach.

He jaw dropped when she read the name inside. "Dear, look at this."

Fitz frowned at her shocked expression, taking the scroll back. His eyes widened and he almost dropped it.

"Well, who is it? Who's the new Councillor?" Grady made a grab for the paper.

Fitz rolled it back up, looking between all of them in shock. "The new Councillor is…me."

* * *

Unfortunately for her, Sophie woke up feeling horrendously sick the day of the coronation. Fitz made her promise to stay in bed and four of the quints stayed behind to take care of their mother.

Ry was vibrating with excitement, despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to see the event since the rest of the Council had said no to any Everblaze at the event, no matter how small. But Jolie promised to look after him and Miracle, the quint who'd decided to go.

Sophie slept for most of the day, only waking up when Hope brought her her Imparter, saying someone was calling her.

Sophie groaned, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. Her head was throbbing, despite the elixirs she'd taken to tame it. "Did you answer it?"

Hope handed her the Imparter, shaking her head. "No."

"Please answer it next time so it doesn't hang up." Sophie tapped the button to answer the hail.

She was surprised as all get out when she saw Alvar's face on the screen. His hair was tossed under his hat with a few grey strands through it. "Man, you look awful."

"I feel awful. What's up?"

"Annie's relatives an' everyone are gettin' together at the old hoedown barn next week. Wanted to know if y'all wanted to come."

Sophie rubbed her temple. "We'll see what's going on then. If you need a number, count us in. But we may not come, depending on what the Council has Fitz doing."

"Oh that sucks. I didn't realize he was still an Emissary after all this."

"Actually, he's a Councillor now."

Alvar stared at her. "He's a what now?"

"He was elected in Emery's place. They decided he was the best person for the job, despite the fact that he's married with kids. I'm supposed to be at the coronation right now, but I woke up super congested with a high fever, so I stayed home."

"Well that's a change of pace."

"You can say that again." She grabbed a tissue from the box on her nightstand and wiped her nose. "We'll do our best to come, but if everyone gets sick, we won't."

"Okay. Good choice. I'll let Annie know. You should go back to sleep, maybe take some elixirs, depending on what's got ya down, 'cause you look like crap."

"Yeah, I know, I feel like crap." Sophie sighed. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll tell Fitz when he gets home. Is this an adult gathering or is it kid-friendly?"

"Bring the kids if you want. Some of the teens will be entertaining and keeping an eye on the younger kids. But if you don't trust them to hold to the fake story, don't risk it. Personally, I would only bring Jolie."

"Okay. I'm going back to bed now since I feel worse than I look. Feel free to hail Fitz this evening, but I don't know what the time difference is."

"I'll hail in a few hours, see if he answers. Sleep well and feel better."

"I will." Sophie ended the hail and dropped her Imparter on her bedside table. She groaned when her headache came back in full force and snuggled back into the blankets, willing herself back to sleep.

* * *

**Alright, that's a wrap! One more chapter and then I'm taking the rest of the summer off. The next story will be started on the first Saturday of September.**

**Reviewers will get a teaser for the next chapter, just let me know if you don't want one.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


	36. Family Reunion, Brodwick Style

**It seems this is the end, my friends. The last chapter is here. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Sophie sighed, dropping the end of her braid and letting it unravel down her back. She had not been thinking when she'd showered the night before. Now her hair was going to be impossible to style.

"You okay? You've been standing here for ten minutes." Jolie poked her head in the bathroom door. "Dad's waiting for you."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can you braid my hair? I can't get it to stay."

"Sure." Jolie stepped in and ran her fingers through Sophie's hair. "Your hair's really slick though."

"I know. I shouldn't have washed it last night."

Jolie made quick work of a braid, tying off the end tightly. "I was planning to take the quints and Ry to Grandpa Grady's. We were going to watch a movie tonight. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. Which movie were you thinking of?" Sophie pulled her wallet out the drawer and put it in her well-loved floral pattern purse along with a backup lipstick, her pathfinder and the blue crystal already tucked into a pocket.

"Frozen II just came out on DVD. Uncle Keefe got a copy and we were all going to watch that while you guys went out." Jolie followed her out of the bathroom to the stairs.

"Okay. Were you wanting to stay the night or just watch the movie?"

"Could we stay the night please?"

Sophie considered it while they walked down the stairs. "As long as you guys are ready when Aunt Linh picks you up. Make sure your brother gets to bed okay. He gets tired early."

Jolie smiled. "Don't worry. Gramma and Grandpa know the drill."

"I know." Sophie wrapped her daughter in a big hug and sighed. "I'm sorry if I'm being too much of a helicopter mom. I just don't want anything to happen to you again."

"I understand." Jolie returned her tight embrace. "I don't want anything to happen to you either. Would it make you feel better if I hailed you when the movie's over?"

She sighed. "It would, but I won't have my Imparter on me. I guess I'll just have to trust that you'll be okay."

"We'll be fine, Mom. You won remember? There's nothing that's going to get us. I know you'll always worry, but you don't have to worry about that. You can worry about the kinds of things moms usually worry about. Like whether or not we're paying attention in our classes, how many boys are trying to flirt with me at school, keeping the house clean, and making sure we're all fed. Not our chances of making it to Saturday."

Sophie stepped back and put her hands on her hips. "What boys?"

"Mom, it was an example."

"What boys are you talking about, Jolie?"

"No one, seriously. People barely pay attention to me."

"I have a hard time believing that, Jo." Fitz took Sophie's hand loosely and reached over to ruffle his daughter's hair. "You're growing up way too fast."

Jolie blushed, smiling. "Don't worry about it. Promise, you'll be the first to know if anything like that starts getting serious."

Sophie sighed, leaning her head on Fitz's shoulder. "You guys have fun, okay? We'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Mom and Dad." She gave them each a hug and ran back upstairs.

Fitz chuckled. "She's getting big fast."

"I know." Sophie sighed again, smiling. "I'm still coming to terms with the fact that she's fourteen. My baby girl is getting so old."

He blew out a breath, burying his nose in her hair. "I know. I can't believe it either. Do you remember how much trouble we got into at age fourteen?"

"Not really." She reached into her purse and pulled out her blue crystal as Fitz waved the door open. "Although, you were fourteen when I first came to the Lost Cities. That year was a pretty big mess."

"Yeah. The year you were fourteen, Councillor Kenric died, we ran away to the Black Swan, got sent to Exillium, trashed Ravagog, and I think even the disaster at Luminaria. Wow, fourteen was an eventful year for both of us. By the way, how long have you had that crystal sitting in your purse?"

Sophie grinned. "Longer than we've been married, why?"

Fitz groaned. "Did I seriously not notice you heading off to see Alvar and his family at all during that whole time?"

"Nope. You questioned me a few times but I told you I was on official Black Swan business and you left me alone."

"I was kinda dumb."

Sophie smiled and didn't correct him. She took his hand and held the crystal up to the light, whisking them away to the broken-down shack Alvar used to conceal his light leaping.

This time however, there was his large silver truck, not caked in mud for a change, waiting outside.

He rolled down the driver's side window and waved. "Hey y'all! Need a lift?"

"Alvar!" Sophie waved back. "It's so good to see you!"

He laughed. "You too! Adult fun night tonight!"

"You betcha!" Sophie grinned, walking around to the passenger side door. "Fitz, you want shotgun?"

Fitz shook his head. "No thanks. I hate riding in these things."

"Your loss." Alvar said, leaning over and hitting the unlock button so they could get in. "It's beautiful country out here. Might look nothing like you're used to and the town itself is probably smaller than Everglen's grounds, but it's been my home for over thirty years."

Sophie smiled, taking a deep breath as she swung herself into the passenger seat. "Mmm, it smells like pine out here."

"Like I said, real purty country. You both buckled in?"

Fitz leaned his head against the back window with a soft thud. "Your accent's weird."

Alvar shifted the truck into gear and stomped on the gas, dodging trees with expert steering. "It's changed. Everyone in Blood Creek uses that good honest country accent. I wouldn't give it up for anything."

"It still sounds weird."

"You'll get used to it." Alvar chucked, wincing as he gripped the steering wheel.

Sophie frowned slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Yep." He adjusted his grip. "Not as young as I used to be is all. My fingers don't work like they used to."

Fitz poked his head around Sophie's seat. "Uh, that makes no sense. Just because you've been living as a human for the past twenty years doesn't make you one of them."

Alvar sighed, increasing his speed when he pulled onto the desolate highway. "Not totally true."

Sophie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I knew when I married Annie that I wasn't going to age like she was. I know that it was going to be more and more obvious the longer our marriage lasted. So what I did," Alvar sighed, staring at the road with far-off eyes, "is I contacted an alchemist known for his brilliance, swore him to secrecy, and asked him to make me an elixir that would take away my immortality and allow me to age like a human."

Fitz gasped softly, eyes widening.

"He made it for me without question. And it worked."

"When did you take it?" Sophie asked.

"The night before my wedding."

Fitz sighed, leaning back in his seat. "How did we not notice? You'd think we'd pay enough attention to notice that you weren't aging like an elf, even if you didn't come over very often."

Alvar shrugged. "I don't know. But humans and elves do look alike for about a decade or so. When we were in our twenties, I wouldn't have aged very much, if at all. Once I got into my forties and fifties now, that's when the changes start becoming obvious. Both of us have grey hairs, my joints are getting stiff and don't work as well as they used to. I fell and damaged my spine about ten years back and had to have surgery for that, so I can't lift anything heavier than a certain amount. I can't ride for as long as I want to sometimes because my knees hurt."

"Why?" Fitz asked, still not believing what he was hearing. Sophie was in a similar shock. She'd known that Alvar had taken something to alter his aging, he'd told her that after she'd expressed concern over him getting caught, but it had never been laid out like this for her.

"Because I would rather spend one lifetime with her then all the ages of this world alone."

"You just quoted Lord of the Rings. That's from Arwen, isn't it?" Sophie grinned.

Alvar chuckled. "Yes it is. Annie and I thought it fit us purty well."

Fitz sighed again. "I've got a question, you can say no, but I want to ask. Is it okay, in a few years, if I bring Mom and Dad here? Just so they know you're alright before…you die?"

"It'll take a couple decades. I might be an old man by the time we're ready for our secret to come out. But…yes. It would be okay. Just give me a bit longer to enjoy the life I have. I'll contact you when it's okay."

They sat in silence as Sophie and Fitz processed the information. Both of them dreaded the thought of losing another family member.

_Soph?_

_Yeah?_

_Did you know?_

She sighed quietly through her nose. _Sort of. I knew he'd altered his aging somehow, he told me after I noticed it. But I didn't know he'd actually given up his immortality._

_How much longer do you think he'll live?_

Sophie estimated the math in her head. _Well, he's in his fifties now and most humans live to between eighty and a hundred. He'll probably be on the long end of that, so somewhere around ninety-five unless something happens like an accident and he dies younger._

_That seems so short._

_It's really not. Most humans don't actually live that long cause once they get up to that kind of age, there's a lot of things that can kill them. My grandma was an Army nurse for almost twenty years. She went through bombings, epidemics and was even a POW once._

_What's a POW?_

_It stands for prisoner of war. But she went through all that and she died from slipping in the shower. Gramma was really, really old even though she still lived on her own and she fell in the shower and hit her head. There's also strokes, heart attacks, organ failure, stuff like that._

_That doesn't make me feel better._

Sophie sighed. _It wasn't really supposed to. But I'd say around thirty or forty more years._

He sighed softly, pulling back from her mind.

"What's with the gloomy faces?" Alvar grinned. "You're headed to the best party this side of the Rockies!"

"You got hard cider?" Fitz asked. "I try not to drink too much, but if you've got it, I'll take it."

"By the jug. I'm a tequila man myself, jus' straight on the rocks if I can get it. What's your poison, Sophie?"

She smiled. "Sparkling rosé is my favourite. But I'll take any good fruity wine, preferably red."

Alvar turned onto a road Sophie had only been down a few times. "Ooh. One of Annie's cousins owns a vineyard and winery down in Idaho by the Snake River. Can't really grow grapes up here, it's too dry. But she sends up the stuff by the case and plenty of people buy extra. It's a gorgeous wine and Annie loves it. I'm not much for wine myself, but it is good."

"What's it called? I'll have to look it up."

"Headless Chicken Winery and Vineyard, in Caldwell, I think? It's somewhere around Nampa or Caldwell. Somewhere in that area."

"Headless Chicken Winery?" Fitz snorted in laughter. "Who names their business that?"

Alvar shrugged. "That section of the Brodwick family is weird with names. That particular cousin is Apple or something."

"Who names their kid Apple?" Sophie snickered.

"I think that aunt's name is Praline. All of Annie's aunts and uncles have perfectly normal names except for her."

Fitz groaned. "Some humans have really weird naming practices."

Alvar smiled, pulling into the dirt parking lot of a large barn. It was all lit up with loud music, lots of people and the smell of a large spread of hot food drifting through the air. "Alright, everybody out."

Sophie grinned, taking a deep breath. Horse manure sure wasn't as pleasant as fresh tamales and chili, but it was country though and through.

Fitz shut the door behind him and took her hand. "Let's go have some fun."

* * *

**We have arrived at the end. This was a real roller coaster of a story, and thanks to all of you for sticking it out with me. Thank you to boookkksss for being my first reviewer on this book. Thank you to Wonderland A.K.A Cay-Cay for being my most frequent reviewer and being super supportive in general. Thank you to WelcomeToTheOrder for beta reading for me, even if my dorky self never remembered to send the chapters to you (Sorry. I'll be more consistent next time.).**

**The vote was unanimous for KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES. So I will start publishing Highflight, Winghigh, Starfall on the first Saturday of September. I will be keeping my same schedule of one chapter every week. That story is the prequel to this one, so it'll explain everything that didn't make sense in this one.**

**Thank you to everyone who supported me with their reviews, follows and favourites, you guys seriously are the best. I must be the luckiest author ever to have such wonderful readers.**

**Shine brightly!**

**Ruby**


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